Whether an afternoon rest or in bed for the night, I rest best if I read first. I often read books in bed on my iPad mini. Sometimes as I am falling asleep I will accidentally drop the iPad over the side of the bed. The thud rarely wakes me.
Last week I awoke one morning and retrieved from the floor a new paperback book I had been reading. I also saw the dark form of the iPad cover and reached down for it. I could not grasp it, so I reached further down and grasping again, pulled to get it out from under the edge of the bed, but it weighed more than usual. In a split second I realized it was wet on the edge.
Oops. That was not an iPad mini. That was the dog’s snout. Poor Lucky! What a way to be awakened at 6:45! As she scooted out from under the bed she looked at me with so many expressions. “What the heck?” “Are you certain you are awake, Molly?” “Really? Is that the thanks you give to your constant companion?”
I started laughing and have not stopped since. Every time I think of it I get the giggles. Such a good thing that she is a gentle dog! What has tickled your funny bone lately?
This beagle sheds like a maniac. I can brush her out in the yard and gather wads and wads of fur. I have noticed this especially around her hind quarters. I am considering having her shaved there. But then I knew a Sheltie who was shaved and never looked quite the same again. Guess I will just order a new brush and see if I can keep up better with the Hairball/Shed maniac. But she is so cute! Don’t you agree?
Oh my goodness. I was brought up short by my ignorance during a visit with my oldest Grandgirl the other day.
She met her boyfriend on Snap Chat. And he is a looker! Lives about 27 miles away. They have a limit of seeing one another 4 times a week, at least before school began. With the price of gas I am not surprised on that limit.
She wanted to come over and bake a cookie recipe with me that she got from Tik Tok, I think. It has pretzels, chocolate chips and chopped caramels in it. She baked those with him, too. Told me she did not think they would be too hard for him. Oh my, dear. The male ego is fragile. Hope she did not say that to him!
She had to teach him how to crack an egg. She liked that fact. The cookies were delicious!
I am so out of touch! Yes, I suppose I must lean into this learning curve. Parts of me sarcastically say, “Really?” When we began an account on Facebook our children were upset as they saw it as their domain. Now they have moved along without us. The Grandgirls helped me load Snap Chat a few years ago. Without practice I have forgotten how to use it and the value of even having it on my devices. Not certain I even want TikTok. Here is more information in case you are interested.
“TikTok is a short-form, video-sharing app that allows users to create and share 15-second videos, on any topic.”
I do not take many videos. If I mastered videography would I only want you to see it for 15 seconds?
And what about Snapchat?
Snapchat is an American multimediainstant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before they become inaccessible to their recipients.
Wikipedia
Do I really need more apps and time destroyers? I’m thinking not, but perhaps I am just thinking old! One pastor called one of these apps a tool of the devil. I think that demon can find his way into anything, but not certain the entire platform is evil? More likely the techno-crazed modern brain is caught up in too much information bombarding daily. It is amazing how modern technology has made it possible for us to be connected to others if we want to be!
Not likely I will load and use either of those apps. Just thought you might want to know how out of touch this Grammy is! I do pray for the protection of my grandchildren and all those using these apps. Most of all, may they turn their eyes to the Lord God Almighty.
But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
We have red headed woodpeckers who visit our feeder almost daily. At our previous house we had Pileated woodpeckers, which resemble the Woody Woodpecker cartoon character. These guys are smaller and have a fully red head, sometimes described as a red hood. The black and white areas of their feathers are purely black or purely white, not speckled as so many woodpeckers are. I have taken to calling them Flying Tuxedos. I have tried repeatedly to capture their image on video, but to no avail. So I turned to the internet and found this one by Mike Blair.
Mike Blair has best flying video I could find!
I have also been amused lately by the young squirrels who have been coming around. They are certain they can outwit the sunflower seed feeder equipped with a spring that closes off the seed when their weight triggers it. They have not succeeded. Just like at the last house they are stymied and frustrated. They know from the seeds dropped on the ground below exactly what this feeder holds. But they cannot access it. They swing about on it and remind me of the Rodeo Wannabes who ride the fake bull in the bars.
True rodeo rider and pretend rodeo rider
Here is a photo of a defeated squirrel
r m dutina
Keep your eyes open for treasures in plain sight and what they might remind you of!
Seems I have been waiting a long time to see the blooms here. Perhaps due to SO MUCH rain! We are so far the 6th wettest August on record in Cincinnati area. We love having this plant about as the hummingbirds frequent them. There are only a few blooms here so far.
The Spruce says: Jewelweed is considered an easy plant to grow and requires little hands-on care once it’s established. It generally doesn’t have any issues with pests or diseases. And the dense growth of jewelweed can actually help to discourage the development of weeds, which will lower your garden maintenance overall. Just make sure the jewelweed is planted in an area where the soil remains moist.
And as I have noted in previous blog postings, when you touch the seed pod it springs open to scatter the seeds. Here is a photo of mostly spent seed pods!
Our hummingbird feeder is mounted outside the kitchen window. It makes for great entertainment while doing dishes or cooking! The whoosh of wings and chatter as the birds guard what they consider ‘their’ feeder is a constant throughout the summer. In the morning during my prayer time they whoosh past the bedroom window where my ‘prayer chair’ is located. When the window is open and I hear their approach and flight past me I am always amused. Has anyone clocked their flight in situations like this? I could use one of those things where they sports people clock a pitcher’s throw!
The thin, asymmetrical, and slightly curved primary feather of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird allows it to achieve an optimal speed when flying. It can fly straight to a speed of 25 miles per hour, and 40 miles per hour during courtship dives.
Hummingbirds Plus
Did I mention zooming past the window? Here is a video of their feather sounds and chirping.
If you learn to identify jewelweed and notice some growing near you, watch for hummers zooming in and around the plants! Well worth waiting to see them!
Watching “The Green Planet” again and came across this!
That has to be one of the most amusing ways I have seen to spread seeds! That is the “Harvest Mouse” eating, of course, dandelion seeds. They showed an actual film of the mouse climbing the stem. I was again laughing out loud!
No idea what the mouse weighs, but it tickles my heart. Never even dreamed about anything climbing a dandelion stem.
I understand how unwanted mice are when they invade a house. We stayed at one of my sister’s houses in Colorado that was especially prone to mouse invasion. I would not kill a mouse in the wild, but inside the house where they run all over the food and silverware? That is something else!
The Lord God takes care of all of His creation, except perhaps when they invade a woman’s abode.
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
I had no idea that Lego and other toy block makers were offering Jesus and other Bible stories! Sadly the image of Jesus is unsmiling and angry looking.
I have been leading discussions about Philippians lately. My focus here is the secret of being content in any and every situation. Not just well fed or hungry. (So ignore the fork below.)
I woke in the night with an image of a happy frumpy man in my mind’s eye. He was overweight and wearing soiled overalls. He had on a bucket-style hat with a collection of pins adorning it. He was smiling and obviously happy and content with his life.
In our society so fixated upon how others dress, their weight, what they look like to us, this man was a refreshing revision of contemporary humanity. He obviously did not care about social norms. I had the impression he knew Jesus very well. There was no such image online that I could find. Not even close. I want to be like him, though. He might have been carrying a fishing pole in his left hand?
We need all the humility mentioned above, but we also need 1 Timothy 6:6
Godliness with contentment is GREAT GAIN. Find your comfortable clothes and go out into the world declaring the power of Christ to make each of us content, whatever we go through. Going about His business, doing His job assignment to you with joy. My pastor calls it ‘the family business.”
Mrs. Charles E. Cowman compiled quotes from Sunday School lessons, sermons, books and Scriptures that were published under her title “Streams in the Desert” in 1925. A friend gave me a copy that was in the 29th printing in 1950. My friend did not like it due to the older style of speaking. Now it has even been published in contemporary English.
In 2005 Bob bought me a copy that was published as a journal with lines to make notes. I have noted things over the years. IN 2018 I posed the question, “Molly can you read sea charts and navigate by the stars? No.” This morning when I opened it the bookmark fell to June 1st. Ha! I love her quote from Charles Spurgeon, known as a “Prince of Preachers” during the late 1800’s.
Why dost thou worry thyself? What use can thy fretting serve? Thou art onboard a vessel which thou couldst not steer even if the great Captain put thee at the helm, of which thou couldst not so much as reef a sail, yet thou worriest as if thou wert captain and helmsman. Oh, be quiet; God is Master!
C. H Spurgoen
It reads something like: Why do you worry yourself? What use can your fretting serve? You are aboard a vessel which you could not steer even if the great Captain put you at the helm, of which you could not so much as reef a sail {I do not even know what that means!} yet you worry as if you were captain and helmsman. OH BE QUIET; God is Master!
I got the OH BE QUIET part. Aren’t there times when we need to tell ourselves to shut up and sit down? Lately I have been in an orthotic boot trying to recover from Plantar fasciitis. That pesky ligament in the bottom of your foot that can get inflamed. My trusty foot surgeon basically told me to go sit down, do icing, stretches, rest, Tylenol, steroid tablets, wear the boot and rest: i.e., quit walking so much. Once out of school, does anyone heed when they are told to go sit down? Well, if the pain is bad enough this one does.
Molly, OH BE QUIET. You are not a foot surgeon and you do not know what is best for you. Sit down and hush. As the weeks have plodded on with me thumping along in this orthotic boot, strapping and unstrapping the front blade on with the tearing sound of Velcro, I have repeatedly told myself, “Buckle up, Buttercup and Hush! Stop complaining and be grateful you have good medical care. How many women on the run from Ukraine need an orthotic boot and do not have access to one?”
What am I worried about? Bob has had to do the dog walking a minimum of twice a day for the long walks. I do the short ones at 11 AM and 8 or 9 PM if I am able. Bob has been doing the shopping except when I go to a store and get a wheelchair cart. I am really trying to get better and store the boot until next time I need one. We have not walked along the lake road in a long time. No museums. An occasional movie. yep, fairly sedentary here. It is truly a pain for me to drive any place as it is my right foot and I cannot drive in the boot. If I drive for more than about 30 minutes it hurts to drive even with a slipper on.
Oh be quiet, Molly. Go sit down and write your blog.
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret
Psalm 37:7 NRSV
Three times this psalm says ‘do not fret.” I always say God knew to write it 3 times because I would not catch it otherwise. Be quiet. Be still. Jesus, my Captain says: “Do not fret, over dog walks or shopping lists, or housework or other errands. Yield to this current situation and heal. Ride the storm of right now and let Father be in charge, because Molly dear, you are not.”
Without your glasses are you using the Spray ‘n Wash stain stick or Underarm deodorant?
Which one where
With your glasses off are those eye drops or scalp drops?
Steroid cream says do not use internally. Doctor says apply to your gums. Go figure!
If you are on a low salt diet is it okay to soak your foot in Epsom Salts? How about swimming in a friend’s in ground salt water pool?
Level of pain determines which cream I use on my face! Arthritis and TMJ are NO FUN!!
And then I have plenty of tears from my eye!
How come we find time to do so many things, including visiting others, and rarely find time to do things for us (like shooting photos downtown or cutting quilt squares)?
Since I never learned how to cook for two I have plenty of food to share with others!
My, oh my, this life brings humor if we are willing to look for it! I do not envy my kids or caregivers as I age. How come I think many of those comfort options will be dropped then as non-essential? A counselor who did her internship at a nursing home said she wants to hire someone when she grows old to pluck the hairs that grow in unusual places. How about my left elbow? Can I count on you to do that for me?!?
Many have asked how my hand is after the steroid injection. It is somewhat better though still gets tender if I do too much. When I heard my friend had the pancreatic cancer diagnosis I knew I wanted to make her a chemo hat. Before the diagnosis was certain she showed me one she had…
More than likely I have shared this song before. It has not grown to mean less to me! There are heavy prayer requests in our neighborhood and among our friends. One family has a member with heart disease along with leukemia. He was hospitalized with what ER doc called an irritated heart. That is a…
I was looking for a way to express this to you and came across this website https://snugfam.com/your-greatest-strength-is-your-greatest-weakness-quote-exploring-meaning-examples/ The phrase “your greatest strength is your greatest weakness” is a powerful paradox that resonates across psychology, philosophy, and everyday life. It suggests that the very qualities that make us exceptional can also be our downfall if not…
This post has been republished due to a technical issue preventing some followers from seeing the initial publication…. So I guess the pressure to write this week has been taken off!
So did he hitch a ride from the flower grower to the flower shop at Kroger’s to my house or come in to find this fragrant place from outside in our yard? I will never know. I was delightfully surprised when I found him, snapped his photo, then caught him in a tissue and sent him on his way in the yellow begonias outdoors.
Where are you from tiny guy?
I will never know his origins or destination!
Jodi Picault wrote a novel entitled Small Great Things. In it was this quote which had me pondering.
I hear the flow of the fountain behind me, and I think about water, how it might rise above its station as mist, flirt at being a cloud, and return as rain. Would you call that falling? Or coming home?
Jodi Picault
water as vapor
These are the kind of thoughts that make me praise God. We have had severe humidity, then thunderstorms, then water flowing from the yards. Is it falling, or coming home?
“Water flirting at being a cloud” thunderstorm brewing
water on the earth – storm runoff
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:45b NIV
Photo by Molly – He causes His sun to rise on all
Ponder this and share your own discovery in the comments section!
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 