FRIDAY

Hoping your weekend will be filled with goodness, thankfulness and kindness.

Garfield, the comic strip cat has a message for you today. If you live in the USA- Happy 4th of July! Wherever else you may live, may goodness, kindness and love follow you through all your days. Visit Feline Friday and share a favorite feline too.

My answers to those Friendly Fill- In's:

1. My plans for the weekend include spending time with my phamily.

2. I love fireworks displays but don't like the illegal ones so many still use.

3. I'm grateful I have the freedom to move about freely currently. I am saddened by the fact that it won't be long before we are under a different government, one where the people will no longer have freedom.

4. Love and respect makes a house a home.

Nostalgia for old time programs like "The Pink Panther". Visit Pink Saturday and share your pink too.

Christ Himself wants us to be free.

I miss my baseball. This man was a pitcher and his philosophy really was quite simple. My father knew so much about the golden years of baseball and man like this, who played simply because of their love of the game. I have always admired Satchel Paige. What a remarkable man he was.

Visiting our youngest daughter and her husband in Western NY this rest area was so much fun. Indoors and out you could take some great photos and we did. I wish my state had such cool rest areas.

This sweet girl celebrated her birthday today. Although she lives far away across the country we got to Face Time with her and wish her a happy 29th birthday.

Here is the dock at their pond. They worked together putting this in place.

Hannah and Jake at Babcock State Park this past February in West Virginia. They love visiting state parks.  Do you like to visit state parks?  If so, where have you traveled to visit them?

With our girl at Niagara Falls State Park in Western NY this May 2020.

Happy birthday to our Hannah Elizabeth this July 3 2020. My father had a brother, Frank who was born on July 3, 1915. He was a small boy when he passed away on October 27, 1918. He passed away from Influenza. I don't have a photo of him but when I was younger I know my grandparents had photos of both their sons (Joseph and Frank) that died during childhood. From what I have read about 500 million people worldwide were infected by Influenza and about 50 million passed away. 675 ,000 were in the USA. My grandparents other children were born in 1907, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1915 that were alive at this time in history. Four of the children and their parents all survived the Influenza epidemic. They had four more daughters after 1915.

Thankful Thursday

July is here and it is hot outside! I am grateful and very thankful for simple things like cold watermelon.  With 90 plus degree temps hovering over us daily it is a cool and refreshing treat. Haven't had any good cantaloupe yet this year except once. The very best comes from the Rocky Ford area in Southern Colorado. It is East of Pueblo and normally they have Melon Days in August when their crops are at their finest. Some notable folks who were born there include former Colorado Governor John Vanderhoof, Blaine Gibson, a Disney sculptor (Hall of Presidents, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribbean) and animator. Ken Kesey the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. There are others, and the people of this small town should be quite proud of their native sons. Stop by Thankful Thursday Share some thankfulness too.

Here are tomorrow's questions to answer from fifteenandmeowing.com and fourleggedfurballs.blogspot.com

1. My plans for the weekend include________________.
2. I ______________fireworks.
3. I'm grateful I have the freedom to ________________.
4. _______________makes a house a home.

Be sure to answer those questions and post them tomorrow. Thanks to Ellen and Lorianne for hosting this weekly.

I am always searching the bible for things relating to freedom or healing or love or sadness. It is my go to place to find answers to all of the questions I have.

 1. Are you currently making plans of any kind? What kind? What emotions are associated with the planning process? Tell us about one plan you had to cancel due to the current situation which shall remain nameless? Ha!
Everything is just weird. I cancelled all upcoming appointments to our chiropractor and my acupuncturist. There is no way I would lay face down for one hour for acupuncture treatments with a stupid mask on and my hubby has asthma and has no business breathing his own carbon dioxide for any amount of time laying face down for a chiro treatment. Read the packaging masks come in. They aren't protecting you from anything. It is just a part of a bigger plan. Nothing is said about the violence roaming our streets. Why aren't they getting this virus? I also will not see the eye doctor. Their rules are so weird I would have a nervous breakdown before I got through it. You should be wondering how nasty were people before all this happened? Did no one wash their hands, did medical offices never clean their equipment? Having worked for 32 years in the medical field, I would answer those questions but you would be shocked. Have medical doctors decided patients are not worthy of their presence? Did they kick the Hippocratic Oath to the curb? Turn off your TV's and do some research on your own.  Oh by the way, there is a new virus in China, where most of the masks are made. Think about that...

2. Last time you saw stars, figuratively or literally?
City dwellers do not get the amount of starlight people like me would like to see.  Having had this VP Shunt for over 34 years I see stars plenty of times !''

3. Blueberries, yah or nah? Blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, Blueberry yogurt, blueberry pancakes, blueberries by the handful?
Yes to all of the above! Blueberries have fiber so they are truly good for you. I will eat them whenever I can and enjoy pies, pancakes, muffins and yogurt with them too.

4. Swim against the tide, swimming upstream, in the swim, sink or swim, makes your head swim....choose one of the swim idoms and tell us how/why you relate?
Swimming upstream! I love salmon so that would be my favorite swim!

5. Sum up your June in one sentence.
Strange times, more time with those I love and always knowing how much God loves us all.
Stop by Joyce's

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I Like to remember how much GOD loves everyone. 

Going to still miss baseball. I don't care about salaries or politics. I love baseball and always will. We took this photo on June 28, 2019. We miss the games and the excitement of seeing our beloved Rockies play. 

Loretta always has something at her page to make me Laugh Out Loud!

I can always thank Loretta for her different sense of humor! I particularly like this one.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Tuesday and Tuesday Show and Tails

This is Nikita. She is our niece Leah's little momma pup. She is a rescue. Someone was going to leave her on the side of the road , a road that was super busy. So Leah took her home. She has some puppies and they are all happily living together. Nikita is a great watch dog. She watches that front door but she also likes to nap in the sun. I thought she would be perfect for Happy Tuesday and of course, Tuesday show and Tails. Someday maybe Angela will return to her blog and host this fun Tuesday hop.

Oh Maxine, we are all getting older. This was too cute not to share.

We are trying to get some tomato plants to produce some delicious food. But this was cute too.

I don't fret over this world. I belong to Jesus and His world. I Pray He returns soon.

We saw the gorgeous sunset last night returning home from the airport. Nick was out of town and we picked him up at the airport.  The sky was brilliant.

This chubby girl cracks me up wearing her bikini proudly.

Aw....Mondays and More

Aw...Mondays Mister Kitty certainly prefers biting. He is a strange cat, sometimes so sweet , other times he is plain ornery. We just have become use to his ways. He is a strange feline but there are times he is so cute it is hard not to love him.

This Love is...made me smile he first time I saw it.  I love to share it over and over again especially when people today are so uncertain of so much. 

I am not a theologian but I  know, peace will reign when Christ returns.

This past weekend we spent the day sorting through over 500 letters written between my late in-laws when he was in the Navy during WWII. Our daughter and son-in-law, Rebekah and Zach read some of them out loud. Our niece Leah put them in order and scanned all of them, some 4, 5 and 6 pages long. It took her a long time to do that project. We were so grateful for her hard work because it was a long process.

We spent the day having good memories of my hubby's sweet parents. Lucy, his sister and her girls, Jamie and Leah cooked up a storm. It was a wonderful day spent relaxing and enjoying good fellowship with relatives. 

This was one of two yummy pies Lucy baked. This one was a Lemon Blueberry. Lucy nearly lost her life in a terrible car accident with a drunk driver two years ago. It is wonderful to being sharing all this time with her and some of her phamily too.

My father-in-law had saved an article about a local Pueblo boy, Marty Servo who made it big as a boxer. On the flip side of the newspaper article from January 19, 1951 was this small article about a potato protest.   It is funny as my sister-in-law lives near Greeley, Colorado. My in-laws saved so many priceless momentos.

My in-laws in an undated photo.

Lucy made grilled chicken breasts and stuffed shells and a lovely salad. Leah prepared a batch of fresh salsa. it was delicious. We loved spending the day all together.

Sunset yesterday on our way home from the airport. Nick was out of town and we picked him up. The sky was spectacular.

I had to share this meme. My late uncle Louie he was a character driving as he got older. He would yell out the window at people lolly gagging at green lights and also was quite bold telling them how it really was. My hubby and I laughed out loud. He has a bad habit of turning into our driveway without signaling. I told him this was him, s silly old guy. HaHaHa!

July is coming our way. I hear people telling July to behave.  I like Snoopy's take on the months coming and going.

F R I D A Y

This is a "Grumpy Cat" face! Do you have a grumpy face? I sure do but not everyday! Stop by Feline Friday

Nick snapped this grumpy girl photo yesterday. Colton was driving him to the airport and Miss SHea was with her daddy. She was not a very happy camper. I think her strong will child personality has blossomed. Uh oh .....mom and dad in big trouble! I hope you visit Pink Saturday too.

Ellen and Lorianne host Friendly Fill Ins. Each of them contribute two of these questions. Please join the fun.

1. I almost__________________.
2. I finally__________________.
3. I find _________________very interesting.
4. I have my doubts about_______________.

Here are my answers:

1. I almost always try to keep in touch with my friend Bea who recently turned 90. She is a wealth of information and I treasure our 37 year friendship.

2. I finally finished a book I have been reading for 6 weeks. It is Anna May Wong : From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend. Her story was sad, during a time where Asians were treated poorly by the Hollywood elite.

3. I find Bruce Lee very interesting. Many people do no know how instrumental Bruce Lee was in gaining star recognition for Asians in movies and TV. Most think he was a martial arts expert. He valued his upbringing and heritage and made a way for people such as himself to be treated properly in Hollywood.

4. I have my doubts about the condition of this world to change. I stick by my faith. It will be what will get many through troubling times that are headed our way.

Stop by Joyce's to share some Hodge Podge today.

1. This time last year,where were you?

We were home enjoying the grands, enjoying barbeque's and having a good summer. I suppose much has changed but I don't notice it quite as much because I enjoy being home and close to so many I love. But we do love baseball and last year we saw many Colorado Rockie baseball games in person. With all the crazy rules I doubt that was the last time we ever saw one in person. Much has changed and many more important things to do to prepare for what will come our way. No time for the politics of the NFL and other sports. I am just not interested anymore but in my heart I will always love baseball because everything I Learned about it came from my father and he was a baseball lover at heart.

2. In honor of National Pink Day (June 23rd) tell us your favorite food or beverage. Was it on the menu at your house Wednesday? Do you like to wear the color pink? If we came to visit, would we find this color in your home decor?
I love pink lemonade and I Love salmon but neither one were on our menu for National Pink Day. I do have several pieces of pink clothing but not very much in the way of decorating these days. We do have many beautiful pink sky days though.

3. Stop and smell the roses, look through rose colored glasses, a rose by any other name, not all moonlight and roses, no rose without a thorn...,what rosy saying currently fits your life in some way. Explain.

No rose without a thorn. When Nick was born in 1993 the medical profession turned me every which way but loose. They wanted to drill into my head that I was old 38 pushing 39 when he was born. They wanted to frighten me into believing he would be born with a disability because the older you are the higher the risk of having a child with a disability. No matter what they told me, I stood on my faith! I had already survived three VP Shunt surgeries  in an 18 month period of time along with the losses of my father, two of my mom's two sisters and my Tata Rose  and our unborn daughter Rachel Lee, In the middle of all that I had Jeremy our oldest son and three years later Rebekah and three more years later Hannah so I had come to realize only God held my fate in His hands. I was sent to the hospital the day before Nick's birth. Oh they tried to wow  me with their medical know how as if I was too ignorant to understand. They forced me to spend an entire day and night at that hospital twiddling my thumbs waiting for a baby who clearly was not coming on their medical knowledge know how! So I was upset, furious that we would be stuck with a major medical bill, spending time in a hospital when medically there was no need for it! I was so angry when my husband left for the night, I yelled at God! I said I was sick and tired of the nonsense and He better have something to give me to let me know He was listening! I had my bible there and the pages opened to the verse I have hanging in our bedroom to this very day. " My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness." I was flabbergasted that God really heard me and gave me what I needed to get through the night. Although the doctors had become a thorn in my side, God gave me His word that all would be well. I had a good night's rest and even though Nick was not born until 4:00 o'clock that next afternoon, I learned to stop questioning God. He has been my rock and Jesus has held me up on more occasions than I could even recall.  I Know I must be a thorn in God's side yet His magnificent love for every human on this earth is often overlooked by people. He cares and loves each individual as if they were His only child. I will continue to have that occasional thorn in my side but somehow God turns everything into sweet smelling roses rather then annoying thorns in my side. 

4. Are you a reader? Do you tend to "read lighter" books in the summer months? Do you have a summer reading list? If so, give us a title or two.

Although I am searching for a copy of this book, it will probably go into my winter reading list. Since our youngest daughter married, and moved to Western New York I have collected several books about the area and various stories relating to Western NY.  I recently finished reading Anna May Wong: from Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend. I mentioned this earlier in this post but it was a difficult book to read and filled with so much racism and prejudices against Asians making films in the early 20th century. So instead I try to read lighter fare in the summer and have a fun book my friend Amanda, also a Westerner NY resident wrote about. It is called 

Amanda home schools her five children from ages 8 to 3 and this little book is filled with wonderful tips to share. Manners seems to be something of the past yet many of us still rely on instilling good manners in young children. It is a fun book to read. When all this chaos started I bought new copies of Chicken Little, The Little Red Hen and Heidi. The first two children's books fit the ways of our world perfectly and Heidi is just simply a lovely old story that I could reread as often as I have reread "To Kill A Mockingbird". Some good books are worth reading over and over again. I believe I have gone through five copies of Harper Lee's famous novel.  She was a real hero to me. Attending Catholic school, a summer reading list was a must! Before I finished high school I had read and reread many great classic's like Don Quixote, The Red Badge of Courage and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to name a few. I am grateful for a solid education which taught me the value of knowing not only my history, but the world's.

5. Share with us one rose and one thorn from your weekend.
A rose would be the wonderful birthday celebration we had for Rebekah as she turned 32 and a thorn would be hearing a dear blogging friend needed surgery, Grateful though, to know she is recovering well and that my friends, is why I pray.

6. Insert your own random thoughts here.

My hubby spent all his childhood summers on his grandparents farm. He loves windmills and I do too. I have hundred of photos of windmills from our five years of traveling across Kansas while Nick attended college, first in Ark City near the Oklahoma border and Salina home of the Kansas Wesleyan University. This shot was taken today as we took a wrong turn, gabbing in the car, heading to a Wal-Mart we rarely visit.  I was able to catch this shot. I also saw a high school pal has a windmill in her backyard in her Idaho home thanks to her hubby's hard working putting it all together for her, Now I need a windmill too. But seriously, I have asked the hubby to get one for our yard.