Letters On Friday

Dear Rain....I may regret this come July and August, but enough already.  It rained again last night, so no watering of newly planted flowers, bushes or tree.  I do so love the look of green grass which without the rain begins to turn brown, so I guess I should re-word and say, keep raining, only maybe not quite so frequently (ie: everyday).

Dear Anderson's Bookshop, thank you for continuing to prosper as an independent bookstore in my town eventho there is a 2 story Barnes & Noble just 2 blocks away.  You bring us readers fun events like you did on Wednesday evening.  Random House Rep Night is an evening with 3 reps from Random House who review the latest releases both in hard-cover and paper-back, children, fiction & non-fiction books.  If you are a book lover like myself this is like manna from heaven.  Not only that, I was one of the lucky one's that won a new book. PARIS by Edward Rutherford...a hefty book, perfect for summer reading.

Dear Birds, you definitely bring me pleasure with your tweets, & chirps & sing song voices.

Dear Lane, thank you for the Amazon Gift Card....I used it to buy 2 brand spankin' new bird feeders,  advertised as squirrel proof.  We will see, sometimes those squirrels are smarter than the manufacturers.  They sure ate right out of the last "squirrel proof" bird feeder with absolutely no problem.

Dear Lilacs, thank you for your brief appearance.  I enjoyed your aroma while it lasted.

Dear May, so long....see you next year!!

And I would love for you to visit my collaborative blog, Focusing On Life, where I am musing on "Staying Young".

Linking to Nancy's Five On Friday and Mona's Floral Love. Floral Love

"Happiness is something that comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open."  ~  Rose Lane

Until next time....

Hallelujah

Good morning and Hallelujah the world is still spinning and all that talk about the world ending according to the Mayan calendar was just that...."talk".   And along with all that "talk" the weathermen were once again wrong in all their talking about the big snowstorm heading our way with predictions of 3-6 inches of snow by morning.  I am putting the weathermen and the Mayan's in the same category....wrong.  Last night about 6:00 PM the snow began, my excitement built, but within an hour the snowflakes had turned to a light nothing and this morning all we have is, at best, 1/4". not even enough to cover the grass.  Darn.

But with the disappointment of no snow there was joy to be found at The Book Club Christmas Party.  Not only joy, but good food and lots of laughter.

We played games (last night's were a bust, too difficult), we ate, and we chose our books for the year...

• The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
• The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
• Don't Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde
• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly
• Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
• Defending Jacob by William Landay
• The End of Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

My Christmas flowers are still blooming which is always a delight....and a good thing, as Martha would say.

So how about you, have you found joy to overcome the disappointments that happen in your life?  Sometimes it is a struggle but personally my joys far outweigh my disappointments, you just have to look and be aware.

More tidbits....

"I've learned that you should never put a rubber snake in your older brother's bed."  ~  Age 7

"I've learned that receiving a thoughtful note or unexpected act of kindness from someone can make my day."  ~  Age 18

"I've learned that while it's important to be my daughter's friend, it's more important to be her mother."  ~  Age 36

"I've learned that when I awake aching in various joints and thinking "Oh what's the use?" if I get out of bed, don some clothes, splash cold water on my face, put on a little lipstick - I can face the world for another day."  ~  Age 86

So let's get out there with lipstick on for another day.

Sharing with 5 on Friday and Orange You Glad It's Friday....(once again I cannot copy & past the badge for this...anyone else having any trouble??)

Until next time....

Five Ramblings on Friday

Good morning...it's dreary and misty this morning.  I wish I was telling you it is snowing, but snow is nowhere to be seen around these parts and none predicted...boo hoo.  But I am enjoying my morning cup with a croissant and cherry jam.  Takes a little of the boo hoo's away.

I am still decorating...I seem to have turned this into an event.  Yesterday I decided I needed to go to Hobby Lobby to pick up just a few things.  Well, 5 bags (they were small) later I was back home and digging back into the never-ended decorating.  Maybe if I would stay focused (?) I would get it done.  I did buy a few new things to add to my decorating.  What am I saying....I have so much Christmas stuff, the last thing I needed was one more stuff to decorate.  Nevertheless, I did it and I will post all of my results when complete.

This Santa is definitely not new....I do believe he is my favorite Santa.  I used to be a big-time Santa collector, but then it just got ridiculous and thank goodness I was able to put a stop to the madness or I would have turned into one of those crazed collectors that turn whole rooms into a display of Santas.  This particular Santa was the MOST expensive Santa I ever bought in my crazed days.  I think he was over $100 dollars which, when I was collecting these gems, was totally out of my Santa spending budget.

Do you remember my "grateful tree" for Thanksgiving?  The birch twigs that I gathered from the yard?  Well, I recycled those twigs and am using them again in a "jingle bell" tree for the dining room table.  I sprayed them gold, and added some glitzy sprays (Hobby Lobby), hung jingle bells and voila.  

I think this year I am sending postcards for my Christmas cards....I am expecting a shipment today from Red River Paper that has plain postcards to print your own.  And since I have my fancy new printer I am delving into it this weekend, since the shipment is due today.  This may be one of the cards....ahh what you can do in Photoshop!!  I added the sparklies and the "Merry Christmas" digitally.

OK that is definitely enough....I must get back to the decorating.  Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season.  Sharing with Kim & Xanthe's Five on Friday.

"We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections.  If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create."  ~  John Lennon

Until next time....

Five Things On Friday

First, yesterday I spent quite a bit of the day creating a new tradition for our Family for Thanksgiving, The Gratitude Tree and then writing a blog post about it for my collaborative blog, Focusing On Life.  It should not have taken me as long as it did, but for some reason Google Chrome would not let me login to the blogsite.  I tried everything, logging out, logging in, turning off the computer, refresh, refresh.  But something just wasn't working so I decided to try another browser.  Foxfire didn't work, but for some reason Explorer did.  Hallelujah for Explorer, a browser I gave up on many moons ago since I have opted for Google Chrome.  But this time Google was letting me down and Explorer came to my rescue. But anyhoo, please visit my collaborative blog Focusing On Life and read about this new tradition.

Wednesday I visited my sweetie.  He is well and was in a talkative mood.  Not sure what he was saying but it was good to see him animated and smiling.  After visiting I drove around the countryside for a while, soaking up the last bits of sun, oh it sets so early with the time change and with the sun so low in the sky our days seem so short.  I spotted this field of rolled hay...one day I am going to find a field like this with the sun setting in the background, but today I had to settle for an old barn in the background.  Used one of Kim Klassen's new textures (Kristin) on the background.

Last Friday evening I went to a dinner at a friend's home.  Mutual friends were in town so it was a good excuse for us to get together and visit.  The hostess made two kinds of home-made soups, both delicious and I volunteered to bring the salad.  I am a big Pinterest Follower and have pinned a bajillion recipes, so thought I would scour my boards for a salad recipe.  I found, not a salad recipe, but a salad dressing recipe from the Olive Garden.  I am a big fan of the Olive Garden salad so thought this would be a good choice.  Collected the ingredients, put it all together, served it and sat back and waited for the applause.  Well, no applause, but it was really good.  And fyi, I added more olives than the traditional 2 that come with the salad.  In fact I added a whole can.

Ingredients:

1 packet Good Seasonings Italian Dressing

(Ingredients needed to make dressing; oil, water, vinegar)

½ tsp. dried Italian Seasoning

½ tsp. table salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. garlic powder

½ tbsp. mayonnaise (no Miracle Whip, please)

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbs. white vinegar

1 ½ tbsp. water

Directions for making this delicious salad dressing.

Prepare the Good Seasonings Salad Dressing as directed on the package.
Pour prepared dressing into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients.
Whisk until completely blended.
Keep in a covered jar for up to 4 weeks in refrig.  Shake well before serving.
Sit back for the applause.

Next on my 5 things on Friday is....just finished reading a really interesting book, that I would definitely recommend....

                                            

Briefly this has been billed as a literary thriller about a retired Orthopedic surgeon that has been accused of murdering her best friend.  Jennifer White is slowing descending into Alzheimer's and cannot remember her best friend, Amanda's death, let alone murder.  But since Amanda's 4 fingers were amputated during the murder, the prime suspect is Dr. Jennifer White who specialized in hand and finger surgery.

This book fascinated me.  It was all told from Jennifer's perspective, her lucid moments as well as moments of not recognizing or remembering anyone around her, including her children.  As I read this, I thought so much of what my sweetie must be thinking and maybe remembering.  Interesting read, recommended.

And finally, the last of the 5 on Friday....I little recommendation for when the cold winter months approach and our lips get dry and flaky.  I tend to get dry lips in the winter time, but last winter I discovered a lip balm that I would definitely recommend.  You can find it at your local drugstore and it is relatively inexpensive, but it does wonders.  It is called C Me Smile Lip Butter, completely natural and organic made by Say Yes to Carrots.  No, it does not have a carrot taste, rather tasteless, but it sure does the trick.  Try it, you will like it.

So, that's it...I have given you a link to a new tradition, a pic of a field full of wheat bales, a delicious salad dressing to enjoy, a book to read, and a lip balm to try.

Sharing with Nancy's Rural Thursday and Kim & Xanthe's 5 on Friday.....

"That's our function in life - to make a declarative statement."  ~  Corinne Jacker

Until next time....

The Healing Field of Honor

 I read in the newspaper yesterday that Rotary Hill part of Naperville's Riverwalk was transformed into a field of 2,012 American flags that are paying tribute to the service men and women from Thursday, Nov 8 - Tuesday, Nov 13.  This hill, which is being called "The Healing Field of Honor is a way for visitors to express patriotism and gratitude for our troops, as well as to raise funds to research medical issues that affect many veterans.

As I parked near the top of Rotary Hill, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the flags blowing in the breeze, hundreds of them waving their red, white & blue.  Rotary Hill is dominated by the presence of The Millennium Carillon that stands tall overlooking the entire field.

Walking around the park, taking pictures from every possible angle, ofcourse I had to capture this little cutie as her Mother had dressed her in red, white & blue just for this event.

We are encouraged to buy a flag in honor of a veteran either living or dead in order to raise money to help fund the traumatic brain injury research by Dr. Jim Kelly of Washington, D.C.  Many of our troops are surviving injuries they would not have in the past, but traumatic brain injuries are causing long-term problems.

Naperville hosted a Healing Field in 2009 which raised over $100,000. for the Fisher House of Hines V.A. Hospital in Chicago.

As I walked thru this field of American Flags a feeling of pride filled my soul.  Sometimes we have to be reminded of just how blessed we are to live in a country where our flag flies freely with no fear or shame, how fortunate we are to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.  God bless all those who have served and continue to serve to keep our freedom safe and our flag flying proudly.

Sharing with Kim & Xanthe's "5 on Friday" .  I think I bent the rules a bit the first time out on this newer theme....

"You can't separate peace from freedom, because no one can have peace without freedom."  ~  Malcom X

Until next time....