I am thankful to have a family to love!
I hope that my family loves me, but I am more content knowing I have family to love. The same is true of friends - I do not know if they love me, but I am blessed to have people in my life to love. Can you imagine living in a world where you didn't haven't any family or friends to love?
I am thankful that I don't experience the stress of basic survival!
My stress if my worry for my families safety and health. I am blessed with food to eat, clothes to wear, shoes for my feet, safe home and a warm bed. If I go to bed hungry - I can get up and eat, if my feet get cold in the night - a pair of socks are a few steps away, if I am thirsty - water is just a turn of the faucet, if it rains or snows - I have a roof over my head. I am blessed! Could you survive without a home to live in, food as easily as going to the grocery or to a restaurant, searching for water?
I am thankful for my senses!
I can hear the sounds of nature and the music of my grandchildren's voices. I can see the sunshine and the wind rearranging the limbs of the trees. I can feel the heat of the sun, the wet of the rain, the cold of the wind in fall and winter. I can talk with my friends and family. I can feel the roughness of sandpaper and the softness of a babies hair. I can smell the earth, the stringency of rosemary, the calming smell of peppermint and clary sage, and freshly washed sheets and towels. What would you do if you couldn't see, hear, talk, smell, or feel?
I am thankful that I have choices!
I can smell the aromatic and walk away from the odorous. I can get out of the rain or soak up the sun. I can talk or sit silently. I have a choice. I can make the decision of what I listen to, look at, taste, smell, or feel.
I am thankful that I am still in good health, mobile, and independent.
I can't do everything as I once did, but I can still do. Good health - I am not in a health institute nor do I have to see a doctor on a regular basis. I still move as needed - not as fast or as long as I once did, but I do move. I am not dependent on anyone for my basic needs.
I am thankful for the saving Grace of my Lord Jesus Christ and the mercy afforded me by his Crucifixion and Resurrection!
Showing posts with label friend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friend. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2016
Monday, January 4, 2010
It's Here
It is freezing outside! So cold that even my demonic animals are inside by the fire (and it has been gong constantly). The wind is sending daggers of cold right through the body making all barriers useless. The promise of snow later in the week brings a smile to my face until I open the door and slide into the frigid air.
In 1984 we hosted a New Year's Eve party in 4 degree weather. Everyone was gathered around the fire and still froze. Worst party I have ever had the pleasure to attend much less give. At midnight, everyone rushed to their warming vehicles to escape the angry weather making it the shortest party ever for this celebration. Strangely enough it warmed up a great deal with the departure of the guest. Believe me cold doesn't always mean snow, so there was no reason to keep opening and shutting the door to "see if it's snowing".
Well, for those of you who think we must have 3-5 days of freezing temperatures to kill the insects - we should not have any bugs, insects or anything else for the next year or two after this weeks temperatures. Do you think it will drive the armadillos south again?
Those beautiful palms that I refused to put in the ground year before last and now in the ground and will probably perish after this front finishes dumping its icy temps. I look for them to jump out of the ground and run back to Jekyll and the warm soil of the coast. I think it will be safe now to prune the trees and shrubs and shape them up for a beautiful spring. Surely the sap raced down the stems to escape the wintry blasts.
My grandchildren are on the way and I am so happy! I will fill their little tummies with good gooey chocolate pies and fruity strudels. There is so much I need to share with them and I will have only a few days in which to catch up and build memories. I so need to see the sparkle in my daughters eyes and hear her joyful laugh.
I know I have rambled a bit tonight. I lost a most important and longtime friend this New Years. I had things to tell him before he left us and so many things to thank him for before asking God to take special care of him. Life was not always good to our friend, but then God knows that and will grant him peace. Hubby and I spent a day in remembrance and thankfulness for our friend - so many years takes a little bit of time - but we enjoyed the journey and we enjoyed the friend.
Thank you for returning to check on me and my thoughts. They will come back together over the next few days and maybe the writing will be more sensible.
Remember, you can't build a future if you live in the past. Move forward, thank God and be nice!
Happy reading!
Belle
In 1984 we hosted a New Year's Eve party in 4 degree weather. Everyone was gathered around the fire and still froze. Worst party I have ever had the pleasure to attend much less give. At midnight, everyone rushed to their warming vehicles to escape the angry weather making it the shortest party ever for this celebration. Strangely enough it warmed up a great deal with the departure of the guest. Believe me cold doesn't always mean snow, so there was no reason to keep opening and shutting the door to "see if it's snowing".
Well, for those of you who think we must have 3-5 days of freezing temperatures to kill the insects - we should not have any bugs, insects or anything else for the next year or two after this weeks temperatures. Do you think it will drive the armadillos south again?
Those beautiful palms that I refused to put in the ground year before last and now in the ground and will probably perish after this front finishes dumping its icy temps. I look for them to jump out of the ground and run back to Jekyll and the warm soil of the coast. I think it will be safe now to prune the trees and shrubs and shape them up for a beautiful spring. Surely the sap raced down the stems to escape the wintry blasts.
My grandchildren are on the way and I am so happy! I will fill their little tummies with good gooey chocolate pies and fruity strudels. There is so much I need to share with them and I will have only a few days in which to catch up and build memories. I so need to see the sparkle in my daughters eyes and hear her joyful laugh.
I know I have rambled a bit tonight. I lost a most important and longtime friend this New Years. I had things to tell him before he left us and so many things to thank him for before asking God to take special care of him. Life was not always good to our friend, but then God knows that and will grant him peace. Hubby and I spent a day in remembrance and thankfulness for our friend - so many years takes a little bit of time - but we enjoyed the journey and we enjoyed the friend.
Thank you for returning to check on me and my thoughts. They will come back together over the next few days and maybe the writing will be more sensible.
Remember, you can't build a future if you live in the past. Move forward, thank God and be nice!
Happy reading!
Belle
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Chicken Gumbo
Our family refers to this as my sister's Chicken Gumbo, but in reality it was shared by a close family friend. My sister makes this according to the recipe as I do or my mother does, however, hers is different. It is just one of those things, no explanation! My children will tell you, Mom's is good but . . . I feel the same way and as a result, this has become her recipe!
This is great for those cold winter nights or when you have a crowd to feed. Warm and nourishing, it is a pleasant detour around the chili or vegetable soup meals.
Boil a large fryer or hen in salted water until the meat falls from the bone. Remove hen from broth, remove meat from bone, returning meat to broth.
In a small skillet, fry 4 slices of bacon and set aside to drain on a paper towel. Stir 1 cup of chopped onions and one clove of crushed garlic into the bacon drippings. Saute until brown, then stir 1/3 cup of flour into the onion and garlic mixture. Stir constantly until flour has browned; pour mixture into broth. Also add 1 pint tomatoes and 2 tsp Gumbo Filet to the broth. Cover and let simmer. Add 1 pint okra, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/2 tsp Tabasco Sauce to broth. Simmer at least 45 minutes. Serve over rice.
Delicious!
This is great for those cold winter nights or when you have a crowd to feed. Warm and nourishing, it is a pleasant detour around the chili or vegetable soup meals.
Boil a large fryer or hen in salted water until the meat falls from the bone. Remove hen from broth, remove meat from bone, returning meat to broth.
In a small skillet, fry 4 slices of bacon and set aside to drain on a paper towel. Stir 1 cup of chopped onions and one clove of crushed garlic into the bacon drippings. Saute until brown, then stir 1/3 cup of flour into the onion and garlic mixture. Stir constantly until flour has browned; pour mixture into broth. Also add 1 pint tomatoes and 2 tsp Gumbo Filet to the broth. Cover and let simmer. Add 1 pint okra, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/2 tsp Tabasco Sauce to broth. Simmer at least 45 minutes. Serve over rice.
Delicious!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Old Pictures
Nothing can take you down memory lane like old pictures. Our family had a reunion beginning with the birth of my daughter in 1974 every year until 2000. I have pictures from everyone, but for the life of me do not remember the year of each picture. The sadness here is that I can tell about when it was by those attending and have since passed on.
Family from Arizona, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and more gathered on the last weekend in September for the big get together. Oh how I miss those days!
I know I have written about the Barbecue before, but it was always so much more. There is always disagreements and strife in families, but on this weekend for 26 years, it was always put behind us and everyone remembered the good times, forged new friendships and created new memories. Most of the older group are gone and truly missed. Some of the younger group are gone and sorely missed. There are those here now that don't remember the big get together and some who would love to do it again.
Family is stretched even further out now and a few of us keep in touch, but contact information has been lost on so many. I was blessed to find a cousin this year who is dear to me even though the only part of his life I have shared is a long weekend in September. It doesn't matter, there is a molecule in the offspring of Jim Sims and Suzy Brown that draw like a magnet to each other.
It matters not the ups and downs and ends and outs of daily living that we each experience; it is not money, possessions, education, talents, or the lack of any of these things. There is something there that cannot be denied.
I love you guys! Keep reading! Until the next big get together!
Family from Arizona, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and more gathered on the last weekend in September for the big get together. Oh how I miss those days!
I know I have written about the Barbecue before, but it was always so much more. There is always disagreements and strife in families, but on this weekend for 26 years, it was always put behind us and everyone remembered the good times, forged new friendships and created new memories. Most of the older group are gone and truly missed. Some of the younger group are gone and sorely missed. There are those here now that don't remember the big get together and some who would love to do it again.
Family is stretched even further out now and a few of us keep in touch, but contact information has been lost on so many. I was blessed to find a cousin this year who is dear to me even though the only part of his life I have shared is a long weekend in September. It doesn't matter, there is a molecule in the offspring of Jim Sims and Suzy Brown that draw like a magnet to each other.
It matters not the ups and downs and ends and outs of daily living that we each experience; it is not money, possessions, education, talents, or the lack of any of these things. There is something there that cannot be denied.
I love you guys! Keep reading! Until the next big get together!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Memories of Barbeques
Family reunions and Barbeque - can't beat it!
Hogs cooking over a pit of coals exuding delicious smells and brings on the anticipation!
Basting the meat to enhance the juices flowing from these delicious beasts. Sauce is home made and a little on the warm side, but oh so good.
Hog head stew is the best around, but for those with softer constitutions we use pork roast, beef roast and chickens. The combination makes the delicious base for the brunswick stew made the old fashion way; cooked over an open fire in old black iron kettles.
Good food, good friends and loving family - oh what wonderful memories!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friends
My friends are all different personalities and display various characteristics that have drawn me to them again and again.
Some are fun loving and always happy, some are solemn and serious, some are busy and stressed, and some are laid back and easy going. I have some friends who are out to change the world. I have some friends who are thoroughly enjoying the world as it is. I have peace making friends who don't like the pot stirred, but aren't happy with the way things are but they just want to let the pot simmer. I have friends who love to keep stirring the pot and adding ingredients just to see what will happen - I call these stink stirrers because their are just some ingredients that don't mix and a stink usually follows these friends. Then there are friends who are too busy to even know what is going on unless it involves their current tasks or disaster. All of these friends make up my life! I love them all! They provide me with a variety of views that keep my mind in the right place and encourage me to view the world through other's eyes.
I was reviewing my email list this morning to determine who would enjoy an email I had received. As I came to a name I would review their personality in my mind to determine whether to forward on go on to the next name. Some were judged as suitable or not based on the content of the emails I received from them. As I sat contemplating the list, I realized that maybe I should do it different. Maybe they would enjoy something out of their ordinary. Don't we all like a change of pace as long as it doesn't offend? Who was I to judge what my friends would enjoy? There are so many facets to each and every one of us! Then I started thinking about how my friends view me. Some have told me their thoughts; others are just there, I really don't know how they "see me."
There have been many adjectives attached to me in my 58 years. What others see in me is not what I see in myself! Here are some of the words friends have used to describe me and my connotations of those words. Remember I am referring to friends, not enemies - they have other words to describe me.
Wise - I have lived a long time and learned to live by my rules and values not someone else's (I can spout off advice all day, but you have to learn your way, not mine). Tight Wad - again, what I value is not what someone else values for me. Prude - I am open minded, but refuse to give up my morals and integrity. Compassionate - I care about people, but don't like to be taken advantage of under any circumstances. Plain spoken - if I don't tell you what I think and how I feel, who will (nobody knows me better than I do)? Mean - I am very straightforward in relating what is acceptable and what is not, but if you want to push my buttons, go ahead - but remember I will fight back. Family oriented - my family is very important to me - God gave me children to instruct in his way and to become responsible adults. Don't judge, you haven't reached your end and neither have they - we are all still on the journey of life. Christian - the most important part of my being. I am far from a perfect human being, but God isn't through with me yet. I have been on some hard roads and haven't finished travelling yet, but I find if I follow rather than lead, the trip is much easier.
Now, now friends, how would you describe me? Would you be surprised if I wrote about you? What would I say? Is your life presented in a way that displays your real feelings and your true being? I love you all and you give me so much! If you get an email that doesn't sound like me, remember I am constantly expanding, learning and finding my way.
Keep reading!
Belle
Some are fun loving and always happy, some are solemn and serious, some are busy and stressed, and some are laid back and easy going. I have some friends who are out to change the world. I have some friends who are thoroughly enjoying the world as it is. I have peace making friends who don't like the pot stirred, but aren't happy with the way things are but they just want to let the pot simmer. I have friends who love to keep stirring the pot and adding ingredients just to see what will happen - I call these stink stirrers because their are just some ingredients that don't mix and a stink usually follows these friends. Then there are friends who are too busy to even know what is going on unless it involves their current tasks or disaster. All of these friends make up my life! I love them all! They provide me with a variety of views that keep my mind in the right place and encourage me to view the world through other's eyes.
I was reviewing my email list this morning to determine who would enjoy an email I had received. As I came to a name I would review their personality in my mind to determine whether to forward on go on to the next name. Some were judged as suitable or not based on the content of the emails I received from them. As I sat contemplating the list, I realized that maybe I should do it different. Maybe they would enjoy something out of their ordinary. Don't we all like a change of pace as long as it doesn't offend? Who was I to judge what my friends would enjoy? There are so many facets to each and every one of us! Then I started thinking about how my friends view me. Some have told me their thoughts; others are just there, I really don't know how they "see me."
There have been many adjectives attached to me in my 58 years. What others see in me is not what I see in myself! Here are some of the words friends have used to describe me and my connotations of those words. Remember I am referring to friends, not enemies - they have other words to describe me.
Wise - I have lived a long time and learned to live by my rules and values not someone else's (I can spout off advice all day, but you have to learn your way, not mine). Tight Wad - again, what I value is not what someone else values for me. Prude - I am open minded, but refuse to give up my morals and integrity. Compassionate - I care about people, but don't like to be taken advantage of under any circumstances. Plain spoken - if I don't tell you what I think and how I feel, who will (nobody knows me better than I do)? Mean - I am very straightforward in relating what is acceptable and what is not, but if you want to push my buttons, go ahead - but remember I will fight back. Family oriented - my family is very important to me - God gave me children to instruct in his way and to become responsible adults. Don't judge, you haven't reached your end and neither have they - we are all still on the journey of life. Christian - the most important part of my being. I am far from a perfect human being, but God isn't through with me yet. I have been on some hard roads and haven't finished travelling yet, but I find if I follow rather than lead, the trip is much easier.
Now, now friends, how would you describe me? Would you be surprised if I wrote about you? What would I say? Is your life presented in a way that displays your real feelings and your true being? I love you all and you give me so much! If you get an email that doesn't sound like me, remember I am constantly expanding, learning and finding my way.
Keep reading!
Belle
Monday, July 13, 2009
Memories of Old Friends
This has been a great weekend and early week for me. I reconnected to two important people that have been very important to me and I have carried in my heart but had lost contact.
My cousin has always been special to me even though our relationship has always been over a great distance. I lost her email and have just reconnected. I am so happy.
The other is one of my best friends from high school. My school years were full of inner turmoil. Not my friend - she was full of life, always happy. She came from a large happy family filled with love. I am so glad to have reconnected and hope we can reforge the bonds that made our friendship so special to me even if it is just an email relationship as I don't even know where she lives yet! I look at our pictures and see we have both changed with time - I miss her beautiful red hair, but she still has that wonderful smile. My black locks have long given over to the silver and gray. I look in the mirror and wonder where that girl went; knowing she is still inside and I wouldn't go back for anything. Friend, we have a lot of catching up to do!
I have been able to stay connected to many people that have passed through my life via this wonderful Internet. It has sparked memories, reconnected me with friends and provided possibilities for the future. I love email - I have always liked writing over talking. I can go back to those words and read and re-read them. They don't disappear into thin air or get jumbled in my mind. I can keep in touch with those near and far. I even like the junk stuff. It let's me know someone had to think of me for just a second even if it was to only click on my name. That feels good.
I have much to look forward to and eagerly await my next message. To all you bloggers, keep writing - you may just brighten someone's day.
My cousin has always been special to me even though our relationship has always been over a great distance. I lost her email and have just reconnected. I am so happy.
The other is one of my best friends from high school. My school years were full of inner turmoil. Not my friend - she was full of life, always happy. She came from a large happy family filled with love. I am so glad to have reconnected and hope we can reforge the bonds that made our friendship so special to me even if it is just an email relationship as I don't even know where she lives yet! I look at our pictures and see we have both changed with time - I miss her beautiful red hair, but she still has that wonderful smile. My black locks have long given over to the silver and gray. I look in the mirror and wonder where that girl went; knowing she is still inside and I wouldn't go back for anything. Friend, we have a lot of catching up to do!
I have been able to stay connected to many people that have passed through my life via this wonderful Internet. It has sparked memories, reconnected me with friends and provided possibilities for the future. I love email - I have always liked writing over talking. I can go back to those words and read and re-read them. They don't disappear into thin air or get jumbled in my mind. I can keep in touch with those near and far. I even like the junk stuff. It let's me know someone had to think of me for just a second even if it was to only click on my name. That feels good.
I have much to look forward to and eagerly await my next message. To all you bloggers, keep writing - you may just brighten someone's day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)