Seniors Rock!

Earlier on my blog, I reported on Linda Huntley, a grandma who lives in our area and was competing in the Mrs Senior Virginia Pageant. CLICK HERE for that post. She won!! Linda is now Mrs Senior Virginia. She will be on her way to the Mrs Senior America Pageant in Atlantic city in October. In Linda's interview, she told the judges that she lost her vocal chords during thyroid surgery, but she thinks the Teflon tube in her throat gives her a raspy, sexy voice. That may have been what won them over. Talk about being given lemons and making lemonade! Then she performed a tap dance to "Puttin' On The Ritz", and in the evening gown competition, declared that "Seniors Rock!" Hmm...seems like I did see some pretty nice rocking chairs for sale down at Cracker Barrell!

"Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy." Psalm 33:1,3

A Clever Disguise

Yesterday we drove past a house that had these pretty tulips lining the walkway, and we stopped for me to take a picture of it. But when we got much closer, I saw that they were not really tulips, but cleverly disguised solar lights! And farther back in the yard, you can see they had a row of wooden butterflies. So nothing in the yard was really what it seemed to be. To see disguises even more clever than this than this , CLICK HERE.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

I've Gone Wonky!

Phil and I have both gone Wonky! This is because we just got back from seeing the play "Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory". It was performed by local actors, with some quite special effects, including actors flying around the stage. At intermission, I took this picture of Phil and I in a mirror, thereby realizing that the outfit I had chosen to wear looked like summer pajamas. Why the picture of the yellow shoe? No good reason. The man sitting across from us was wearing startling yellow patent leather shoes! I have never seen patent leather sneakers, much less yellow, so had to show you. They were almost as eye-popping as the play. I recently read that Willie Wonka is a Christian allegory. Wonka himself is God, because he can make the whole world happy. And the chocolate factory is heaven. Charlie, the boy who feels remorse and confesses, gets to stay there forever. Hmmm... and here I had thought it was just a nice little story about morals and being a good person. Chocolate CAN be heaven, but I rather think it will be more like the description below. In the last couple days we went to the sweat bee garden, the Bouncy Castle place, and this play. And Memorial Day weekend isn't even half over. Life is good.

"The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city were decorated with every kind of precious stone...the great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass... I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and The Lamb are it's temple...There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever." Rev. 21,22

Jumping In The Palace Of Joy

Today we took Miss Ella to the Bouncy Castle Place. They were late opening, so she got to actually see the bouncy castles being all pumped up, what excitement! When I was a child, we didn't have anything like this growing up. And as I listened to her delighted shrieks of joy and watched her jumping high in the air, I thought how my jumping days were long gone, but how lovely it was on this spring day to watch her jump. My heart was right there in that bouncy castle with her. As I watched, I could literally feel myself flying up into the air, even though my feet remained firmly planted on the ground. Later, as I slowly walked back to our car with the handicapped liscense, grounded again, I thought of how a time is coming when I will be be jumping for joy once again, shouting and full of excitement.

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy." - "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven." Job 8:21 Luke 6:23

A Sweaty Day

This post is about our short trip that was cut short today. And believe me, there was a whole lot of sweatin' goin' on! Phil and I went with a friend to a local and widely famous flower and daylily garden. But when we got there, most of the fields of flowers were past their prime or hadn't bloomed yet. Bummer! I did get these pictures of the remaining ones, though. Something I hadn't taken into consideration was the heat, 90 degrees. While looking at the flowers, I sweat so much that I got sick. It was HOT! Making matters worse were these pesky sweat bees. They were crawling and flying all over the flowers, making it troublesome to get good close-ups. Sweat bees are small bees that are usually hairless and there are many kinds. So named because they are attracted to human sweat and like to drink it. So I was their afternoon tea! Fortunatly, I was very mindful of them and did not get stung. I was so relieved to get back into the cool car that it took me a moment to see these thunderheads. After surviving the bees, we now had to race home to avoid the dreaded pop-up storms, and weather reports of hail. I later found out that the hail was as big as ping-pong balls in some areas, but thankfully we avoided it! Now showered and cool again, my hot and sweaty day reminds me of one who sweat like no other. It's all in the perspective, isn't it?

"Jesus went out as usual to the Mount Of Olives, and his disciples followed him... An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." Luke 22

The Hills

Tiny hole in a mound of sand,

Each ant created by our Lord's hand

Each ant knows it's place in God's great scheme

Running their hill as a tiny team.

Instinct, evolution, or all in God's plan

Working together better than man.

Angela S. Young

These pictures show just some of the anthills right outside our back door. They are everywhere. My first picture is from the web and shows a model of what their homes look like under the hills. They have a series of underground chambers, all connected by tunnels. They have rooms designated as kitchens, nurseries, even bedrooms for mating. These ants come into our kitchen and we have to seal up all the food. Even then, they crawl on the counters. I should step on these anthills and destroy their homes, shouldn't I? Stop it at the source. But as much as I kill ants without a qualm, I can't bring myself the smash their houses. I'm not sure if this says something good about me or not. I think of all that work and labor that went into the making of the hills, and don't want to destroy them with one step. Why can I kill a living ant and not it's home? Especially when it might help keep them out of MY home. But perhaps destroying the hills would just leave them scattered and they would come inside more then they do now. So what do you say, shall I be a homewrecker?

"Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." Hebrews 3:3,4

Getting Pretty Antsy Around Here

I've noticed an alarming new trend this year. Ants as home decor. Take a closer look at the pretty flowers in my header. The arrangement is in a giant ant planter. Then there's this pedestal serving tray, which is being carried by ants. Because we all know just how tasty appetizers are when served by ants. Then there's a giant figure of an ant to hang on your kitchen counter or somewhere. So if the small ants don't drive you crazy enough, this huge one should do the trick. Kind of a mascot. Finally the napkin with an ant on it. If you are lucky enough to have no ants at your picnic, you still get to stare at one when you wipe your face and hands. Believe me when I tell you that's not all that's in the stores. Is life just too boring without something around to creep us out and make us jump? We have small ants in the kitchen, and today I found this one on my blood pressure pills. No joke, he stayed there all afternoon. Would you have brushed him away and taken the pills? I threw them away and took other ones.

"Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider it's ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores it's provisions in summer and gathers it's food at harvest." Proverbs 6:6

I Don't Do Windows

"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:25,26

I don't have to do windows anymore, because I have a little houseguest who is only too delighted to help. She gets them sparkling clean, and makes sure to dry them to a high shine. Ella's cleaning secret is her little green squirting frog, who opens his mouth wide to spray out plenty of water. I'm training 'em young!

I Was Mocked, And Fled

O.K., I would never kill a mockingbird, really!! But you see...this afternoon this mockingbird decided to take a dip in our driveway puddle, then he flew onto our newspaper tube to preen and dry off. Later in the day, I spotted this book in a store. All this brought back harrowing memories of a shopping trip gone awry. Several years ago, I was going into the mall for some serious shopping. Just before going inside, I was attacked by an angry mockingbird. As he kept dive bombing my head, I put my hands up to protect myself, screamed, and fled for the car. I went around to the other side of the mall and used a different entrance, chosing to walk much further rather than be attacked again. Once safely inside the mall, I heard that others had been attacked as well. The bird had a nest under the eave of the store, and was protecting her eggs. This kamikaze dive bomber was on full alert all day. So you can understand why I feel a little twinge whenever I see a mockingbird. I have been attacked by two other winged creatures, as well. But those are stories for another day...

"The arrogant mock me without restraint, but I do not turn from your law. I remember your ancient laws, O Lord, and I find comfort in them...Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge. In the night I remember your name, O Lord, and I will keep your law." Psalm 119:51,55

Chew On This - Part III

Gum is not the same as it used to be; is anything? Have you noticed that you cannot get regular gum anymore? It's all sugarfree. So if you just want natural sugar and not chemical additives, you're out of luck. Do you remember Chicklets, little squares of gum covered with a hard candy shell? They were my favorite, and seem to be totally gone now. At least I can't find them anywhere. In their place are these Mini-Chicklets, extremely tiny. Double Bubble used to be my favorite bubble gum, now I can only find it at Cracker Barrell restaraunt in the candy nostalgia section. It does still come with the little comics, but is now so hard that it's unchewable. So I bought this roll of Hubba Bubba bubble tape in a tape dispenser. At least it's soft and you can unroll as much as you want. What next, a bubble gum stapler? In our hospital gift shop there are pink and blue cigars for new fathers to hand out. But they just look like cigars, they're really bubble gum. The hospital isn't allowed to sell tobacco products. My quest for good gum has been fruitless. The average American chews 300 sticks a year, something I find hard to believe. The ancient Mayans chewed chicle, which is sap from the sapodilla tree. Around the year 800, they met their end. Everything about them was abandoned, except the practice of chewing gum. Native Americans chewed the resin of spruce trees. And I used to chew Chicklets.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, the we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." James 1:17

Chew On This - Part II

Well, what have we here? My second of three posts about gum. This is high school student Elizabeth Rasmuson. Elizabeth wanted to stand out at her prom, to be special, not like the others. So she made her own prom gown. Out of chewing gum wrappers. Her friends helped her chew the gum. And when she finished making it, she liked it so much that she made her prom date a matching vest. Perhaps she has a promising career designing dresses out of food wrappers. Chewing gum burns 11 calories an hour, that would maybe explain why they are both so thin. I took these pictures from the local news on my T.V. I almost dropped the remote into my bowl of ice-cream when I saw it, but then gathered myself and grabbed the camera. My prom days are long gone. But if I were to make a gown, it would be sewn from candy wrappers and ice-cream cartons. What would yours be made of?

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes." Luke 12:22