Wordless Wednesday

A Legacy of Love

If you have been a reader of mine for awhile you know how much my grandparents meant to me. Even though they have been gone for quite a while there isn't many days that go by that they don't cross my mind.

When we were younger my sister and I spent many days of the summer at their home. There are many things I remember about them and one thing that stands out is popa always taking pictures during special events or holidays. Little did I know at the time how important these photos would become.

While I was visiting my mom recently I asked her if we could get the "old" pictures out. Of course she didn't mind so out they came........................................................................................
What's this? Glad you asked. This is an old suitcase that houses some of the most priceless things I know. To me, this is a suitcase full of love. There are pictures in here of family, distant relatives that I didn't ever know, friends of my mom and aunt, and friends of grandma and popa. Some of these photos are really old. There are even a few tin-types in here. My popa loved to fish so it didn't surprise me to find this.Here he is showing off his good looking catch. Even though I never fish I really do enjoy it. Seems like popa was always doing something. I never knew him to sat still. He was a very hard worker and worked on the railroad all his life. This pictures shows him(far right) with his crew.I thought this was a neat picture. It is of my great-grandfather(my grandma's dad). I have no idea how old he is here but he must of been pretty young.This picture? Well we have no idea who this is. I just thought it was so cute. At first I thought it was a little girl but on the back it has a boy's name.

I enjoy going through these pictures so much. It reminds me of the love grandma and popa had for their family and friends.

They loved God and when you were around them you knew it. My popa helped start a small church in the town where they lived. It's where we went when visiting them. They loved gardening(I think this is where I got my green thumb) and both loved fishing. They loved their family and neighbors. I remember on holidays grandma always preparing a plate for popa to take to someone who was alone.

Even though looking at these pictures is great, it's the love I feel each time I look at them. Grandma and popa helped anybody they could, to me they left a legacy. I surely hope one day when I leave this earth that I will have done the same.

To close this post I found this video that speaks loudly to me. Hope you enjoy!

Beauty in the Kitchen

Remember my post from the other day about finding beauty (January 10th)? Well this morning we woke up to gray, dreary skies and my hubbie made a comment regarding such. I simply told him to look for the beauty. So he started doing the breakfast dishes(our deal, I cook, he cleans) and I went on to do whatever I was doing. Later on I went into the kitchen and found this.......I've never seen him do this before. I guess he decided to show his "artistic" side. I told him it reminded me of a flower bloom, in an unusual sort of way.

I've been tagged......

I've been tagged by Dorothy at Counting my Blessings. I've not done this tag before and I thought it would be fun to do.

The rules are: open a document or file folder, click on the fifth folder and then the fifth photo. Post the photo and describe it. Then tag 5 other bloggers. So here's the picture........This picture was taken on vacation last summer. I am standing in one of the forts in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Yes, it was every bit as warm as it looks. We were out walking around and enjoying the scenery much. I couldn't help but smile when I saw this was the pic I got to share. Hope it adds a little warmth to your day.

I'm passing this tag onto the following bloggers:

Racquel at Perennial Garden Lover
Linda at Meadowview Thymes
Bec at Looking thru the eyes of Love
Jacquie at The Middle of Eleven
A.Joy at A.Joy at Home

This was a fun tag to do. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Hey it's Good to be Back Home Again!

In case anybody has been wondering, no, I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I have been gone for the last several days visiting my mom and sis in AR. It was my mom's birthday and needless to say we have had a wonderful time of fun. We ran all over the state of AR(not really) but it sort of felt like it. We shopped, laughed, ate, giggled and conversed much. It was great!!!

And I just realized how tired I feel. I don't travel a whole lot by myself so I think it really tired me out. As I left my mom's this a.m. it was 18 degrees and it didn't get much warmer than that until I was way down in MS. Currently it is 40 degrees but it's suppose to get to 16 tonight. Brrh!

So, I am excited to be back online again and can't wait to catch up on everyone's blog. Hope everyone is staying warm with this arctic blast visiting.Here's the birthday girl! Doesn't she look great!!!

Finding Beauty

I don't make actual New Year's resolutions, never have, never will. But I do keep in mind some things that I might like to try to do.(Okay, maybe that is a resolution. I don't know, you can decide). One thing is I hope to appreciate each and every day God gives me on this earth. So I have decided to try to find a little beauty everyday. That might include a gorgeous sunrise or set, a cloudless blue sky, smiling and speaking to a total stranger, finally understanding a hard to understand bible verse, enjoying an author's blog, or listening to the quiet.

Well this New Year has started out being more gray than sunshiny and sometimes it's very hard to find beauty in that. But I know I have probably two more months of this before spring and I need to learn how to find the beauty in it. So I was able to capture some "rainy day" pictures and find the beauty in them. I hope you do...................................

This is English Ivy I have planted in a pot on my patio. It looks pretty happy covered in rainy droplets.The rains drops on the Privet berries look like little silvery linings.A water drop stands out brightly against the lush green of this Ligustrum leaf.And the last beauty is a false cypress. It looks like the water droplets are being squeezed out of the tips of the needles.

Now I know everyone won't see the beauty here and that's okay because we all need to see the world through our own eyes. So where do you find beauty?

Gray today? No Way!!!

Even tho the weather lately has been unseasonably warmer we have had gray skies, fog and much rain(not that I'm complaining about the rain). But sometimes I just need to see Mr. Sunshine so bad. The walk in the swamp the other day was relatively warm but still gray.The drive to the swamp shows cloudy skies and gray waters.Gray ducks......................Gray dove...............................
Gray birds...............................Boy do I need some sunshine bad!!!I guess it's true what they say, good things do come to those who wait. This is the view out my back door this morning. Hooray!!! It's nice having this type cloud for a change!!! Here's hoping you have blues skies and sunshine in your part of the world today.

A visit to the swamp

Yesterday was an unseasonably warm day so after church we decided to take a little drive up the Natchez Trace Parkway. Even though it was very cloudy and gray I enjoyed it much. We drove to this swampy area and decided to take a casual walk.There is a nice little walking path around the whole swamp that we enjoyed. We were hoping to see a gator or two but we saw very little wildlife.We did manage to see lots of green though. Imagine that! Green in a swamp! When I was younger I use to think this was just so gross but now I think it is beautiful. It was very quiet(except for a passing vehicle) and peaceful. There were a few birdies singing but we couldn't see any.I like the way this greeny growth climbs up the trees.Examining it closely it looks like some type of fern but something tells me that's probably not what it is.

Well I hope you enjoyed this little "walk". Here's hoping you find beauty in whatever you set out to do today.

Time to Relax.......

My week got started off on a good foot on Monday but on Tuesday I had to take myself to the doc. I have been having ongoing pain in my right calf and leg for awhile and I decided I better get it checked out. Diagnosis? Over-usage of my right calf muscles. If you have been a reader of mine for awhile you know I have a hard time being still and I am an avid exerciser. I exercise usually 5 to 6 days a week for an hour a day(not always but this is close). Well when he told me to not exercise for two weeks that just about killed me! You might as well have taken a hatchet and chopped off my head. He also put me on a steroid that I think is making me a little cranky! So, now I have to learn how to relax. This is what I have been trying to do...........
Find a comfy spot on the couch with a nice throw to wrap up in.
Throw in some warm cocoa in a cute snowman mug!
Light a Fresh Linen candle for a little fragrance.
And curl up with a great book! Ah, what book would that be you might ask?
One of the most helpful books I've ever had and I think every gardener should have. Actually I bought this book a few years ago when I was in class and never really looked at it. Let me tell you it is filled with many solutions to plant problems. So my dear friends, I may not be able to exercise my body right now but I guess I can exercise my mind!