Friday Photos

Here are some photos from the month of July.  Some I've taken, some I've gotten from my girls or I've stolen from their FB pages.  Hopefully, I'll get back into the swing of taking photos real soon.

Kerri and Colton at Disney yesterday

Current baby blanket I'm working on

We're trying out this dog food for Lucy. 
 She has become very picky in her
eating habits lately. 
She seems to be eating this very well though.

Bible Study Time with Kelli

Game time after church on Sunday night

Bookstore Cat - New store in our town

I snapped this while sitting in line at Culver's.  So pretty

First time we've had a bird nest in this bird house

We hosted a Bluegrass concert at our church!

Our church was packed out and we enjoyed
every second of it.

 That's all for my Friday Photos.  Hope you have a great day!

Cathy

Wednesday Hodgepodge and Thankful Thursday

 

1. The Olympics kick off this coming weekend. Will you be watching? Hopefully I'll get to watch some of it, If you could watch just one event in person, which one would you choose? Ladies' Gymnastics - I would like to see Simone Biles.

2. Have you ever been to Paris? No Is this a city you'd like to visit? Not really. What's your favorite 'French thing'? I have no idea.

3. Macaron, creme brulee, chocolate soufle, mille feuille, or an eclair...your favorite French patisserie from the ones listed? Eclair

4. July 24th is National Cousins Day...do you have many cousins? Yes, I have lots of them.  Are you close to them? Some yes...Love them all, but don't get to see a lot of them very often. Will you see any of your cousins on July 24th? No, I didn't.

5. Last time you went somewhere that felt like 'everyone and his cousin' was there? Probably a graduation party a few weeks ago. Here are a group of the cousins who were there.  These are some of the cousins from my mom's side of the family. 

 

6. Insert your own random thought here. Adding my Thankful Thursday post here.

I am thankful for:

* Visit with daughter:  We had so much fun for those few days. 

* Bible Study:  Just finished the 2nd Bible Study with my daughter. "Gospel on the Ground" by Kristi McClelland. I'm thankful for the chance to actually do the last 2 videos in person. We actually have one more discussion to go to completely finish it.

* Crocheting: I've been enjoying crocheting a lot lately. I'm working on a pink baby blanket.

* Cooler Weather:  We've had a short time of a little cooler weather and I've loved that.

* Crown:  Finally got my crown finished and it feels pretty good. I hope I'm finished for awhile with seeing the dentist.

That's all I'll list for now.  Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Cathy

Tuesday 4 - Great Architecture

 

Great Architecture

 

From Annie: "Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. She would be delighted you are here to join in and so am I.

The photo to the right is the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey.  It is the largest cathedral outside Europe . Not only is it beautiful inside and out but has a magnificent pipe organ   It's cornerstone was laid in 1899.

As  buildings go she is a masterpiece of great workmanship."

1. What are some beautiful buildings in your neck of the woods? As I was starting this post, I got these pictures from my brother. This is his home and he has just completely finished remodeling the whole thing and now they are going to sell. If anyone is interested, it lists Wed/Thurs. I think it's beautiful!

2.  What buildings of renown have you experienced or would like to experience? The Louvre? Maybe  Versailles? Things closer to home perhaps? Probably one of the most interesting homes I've seen is in Wisconsin and it is called House on the Rock. Here is a link to their website.

3. What do you think of the current trends in modern buildings? I think they are fine. Times are changing and so do building trends. I'm okay with change.

4. If you could choose any style home you would like, what would it be? Victorian, Farm House, Craftsmen, Ranch, Georgian, Tudor, Cape Cod? I've always enjoyed the Cape Cod style.  But I love our ranch a lot. At this time in our life, we definitely don't need anything with stairs.

Thanks for visiting and if you'd like to join in, here is the link.

Bits of This and That - Hello Monday

 Good Morning Friends:

It's Monday morning and I'm linking up with Hello Monday.  We had a nice weekend and I'm going to share a little bit with you.

Holly & Sarah

Our oldest daughter came to town this week. She flew in on Monday and her friend picked her up at the airport and Kelli spent the first part of the week with her and her family.  On Thursday, we met them in Dayton at a Cracker Barrel and had brunch together and then Kelli came home with us for the rest of her trip.  I hate to say it, but I did not take one single picture of us and all the family we visited with.  But here's a picture she just shared with me from her trip to Italy.

We had so much fun and good talks and visits with family.  It was a wonderful weekend for sure.

Thursday afternoon after we got home, we just all sat and relaxed and enjoyed being together. Then Kelli and I left as we had tickets to go see "Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot" and she wanted to go to the Half Price Book Store first.  Half Price Book Stores were our favorite family place to go almost every Saturday for many years. Great memories going there.  Then we headed to the movie and checked in and then went next door to the Rusty Bucket for dinner as we still had an hour before the movie.  Food was good and so was the service.  The movie was very good and even opened some good chats afterwards about adoption.  I don't know if all of you know our girls were adopted.  They are half-sisters and came to live with us when they were 2 and 5. It was a year or so later that we actually were able to adopt them officially. Best choice hubby and I ever made!

On Friday, we spent the morning at home and Kelli and I actually got to do a week of our Bible Study in person.  Here's a picture Kelli took that I stole off FB.

That evening she went and visited with her grandma and then had supper with her aunt from her biological family.  I know she enjoyed the time with each of them. When she came home, the weather had cooled down quite a lot, so she did some work in the back yard that needed to be done.  After a bit, I went out to help her.  I think that now, I'll be able to get the rest of it finished.

On Saturday, we finished the last video of our Bible study and then got cleaned up and went downtown to visit some of the antique and specialty stores.  And then we found a new used bookstore, that I've never been in before.  It was such a cute place and we had a really good time.

This is the store cat. Very friendly.

Then that evening we went to my sister's and our brother and his family all came and we had so much fun together. So Kelli got to visit my whole side of the family at once.  It was definitely a great evening.  But again, no pictures.

We all went to church Sunday morning and it had been quite a few years since Kelli had been back to the church. It was fun for her to get to catch up with everyone there.  Their daddy was installed as the pastor of this church the same month the girls came to live with us...we also moved into our new house (which my dad built) that same month!  Needless to say, September, 1996 was a very wonderful and crazy month for all of us!  lol

After church, we went to Kelli's favorite pizza place (they don't have them in Florida) and got lunch with Tracy's family.  Again, it was a great time of catching up for Kelli.  It's been over 2 years since Kelli was in Ohio.  

After evening service, Kelli and I sat at the table and played a couple of games of Sequence.  Here's another picture from Kelli's FB.  She very graciously did not get much of me in the picture as I was already in my pj's and nobody wants to see that! lol

We all ended up going to bed a little early (at least for us) because we had to be up this morning at 5:30 to get her to the airport to go home.  She's in the air over Atlanta as I'm typing this.  It's been such a truly great time together!

Thanks for visiting!  

Cathy

Here's Sunday morning's sermon for anyone who has been listening to this Series on Psalms.

Tuesday 4 - Trouble Right Here in River City

 

Trouble Right here in River City

 From Annie:  "Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we strive to interest you with 4 questions each week.

"ya got trouble my friend, right here I say trouble right here in River City..." the music man

Problems come to us all and you don't even need to live in River City!

Some you can solve, some you can't. Some scare you.    For instance, on Facebook I lost a lot of people from my friends list and I have no idea why. It was enough people to make me think it was a glitch but then I was too shy to ask people if they had gotten rid of me because they just don't like me....so I did nothing.    What about your problems?"  All in purple is from Annie.

1. Do you think that you handle problems well over all? I think I do fairly well.  But I also think I have a tendency to spend too much time worrying, before I just go ahead and handle them. I need to work on stopping the worrying and ask God for help. The verse I'm working on memorizing this week is, Isaiah 26:3. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in you."

2. What kinds of problems send you into a tizzy or downright scare you? Maybe some just exasperate you? Dealing with insurance and Medicare are biggies that scare me.  Again, if I will pray and then start the process and just make the phone calls, etc., it usually works out.  Exasperations would be when things quit working and I have no idea how to fix them (especially like computer issues and issues with apps that quit working, etc.  Now those really irritate me.  lol

3. We always have God in our corner but besides him do you have a reliable back up system to go to for help with car trouble, home repairs and maintenance, or any troubles that may arise for you? My back-up was always my dad until he passed away in 2016. If he couldn't fix it, he had a friend that could.  We do have a good mechanic that we trust so we're okay with vehicle problems.  As for the other, that's part of why I still haven't gotten new floors and the walls painted.  I dread finding someone to do the work and dealing with all the decisions.

4 I love the idea that a lovely cupcake can fix anything at all.  "Oh, you are sick? Just eat a dozen of these delicious cupcakes and you will be right as rain!"      What foods, places, music or whatever can make a problem  seem easier to handle?    I guess we are talking about what brings you comfort in the way of material things.  Praying helps calm me and then just starting small and accomplishing the problems a bit at a time (As long as the problems don't have to be fixed immediately.)  Accomplishing small tasks, keep me at peace and motivated.

Thank you Annie for today's questions.  They were fun.  Thank you everyone for visiting.  You can link up here, if you'd like to participate in the Tuesday 4.

Cathy

Bits of This and That

 

Good Morning Friends:

It's Monday morning and I'm linking up with Hello Monday.  We had a nice weekend and I'm going to share a little bit with you.

Friday morning hubby and I had a chiropractor appointment and after having to postpone it for 2 weeks, it was needed and enjoyed.  After that we picked up hubby's mom and we went to Fazoli's for lunch and some great conversation.  After that, I dropped MIL off at home and then dropped hubby off at home and I went to Walmart.  We had a rather large list of things to get.  I didn't get everything, but I definitely got what we needed. I did some cleaning and some TV watching and some laundry and reading too.

Saturday I finished a book and started another.  Hubby had to go to church to pre-record the Sunday morning sermon for FB and YouTube and I needed to run copies of the bulletin and Sunday morning's Sermon Notes. (I'll post the YouTube video of the sermon at the bottom of this post for anyone who may be interested)  After that we picked up some lunch from Buffalo Wild Wings and the evening was pretty much a repeat of Friday evening. 

Sunday we had church and then grabbed a bite and came home and rested and I finished my book.  After evening service we watched some TV and I did some crocheting.  Here's a photo of my current WIP.

While we were watching TV and I was 
crocheting, this is what Lucy was doing.

Just the kind of weekend we like.  Oh, and we got our dishwasher delivered and installed on Thursday.  I now have a fully operational kitchen again.  lol   Thanks for visiting.

Cathy

Thankful Thursday

 

Today I am thankful for these things:

    *Our new stove/oven delivered and installed last Thursday.

    *Our new dishwasher is supposed to be delivered and installed today.

    *The Bible Study my daughter and I are doing together - Kristi McClelland's Gospel on the Ground.     

I was thankful for the Starbuck drink too.  lol

    *I'm thankful to be blogging again. The break was good for me as I was just feeling overwhelmed. Then while I was on break hubby became ill.  We're still not sure what was wrong, but he was pretty sick for a bit.  He's much better now and is almost back to where he was before he got sick. 

    *I missed you all and I'm happy to be back again and catching up on your lives. I am very thankful for each one of you.

Cathy 

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

1. Do you feel older or younger than your age? I don't know.  Elaborate. What is 66 supposed to feel like?  lol  I think I feel pretty good and I'm happy with that.

2. What's one thing you should toss right now, but just can't? A lot of my scrapbooking tools.  I don't think I'll ever scrapbook again, but I just can't bring myself to get rid of them yet.

3. Have you visited many of the 63 National Parks in the US of A? No, I have not been to very many. You'll find a list here. Do you have a favorite? Great Smoky Mountains  What National Park that you haven't seen do you most want to see? The Grand Canyon

The girls in 2005

4. How often do you get take out? Several times a week, if you count fast food drive-thru's.  What's your favorite? We just tried Olive Garden last week for the first time and they did take out very well. 

5. Do you have many (or any) subscriptions? Not necessarily magazines, but thinking more along the lines of boxes or products that companies offer, and you can sign up to receive on a regular basis. Could be weekly, monthly, quarterly, even daily. Tell us about them. No, I don't have any.

6. Insert your own random thought here. Our stove/oven and our dishwasher both went out last week.  So, on Wednesday,  my sister and I went to Lowe's and picked out new ones for us.  On Thursday, the stove/oven was delivered and hooked up, which is awesome, as I can cook again.  We still don't have the dishwasher, but I don't mind washing the dishes by hand for awhile.  You just don't know how much you depend on your appliances until they are gone.  lol.  

Cathy 

Tuesday 4 - Roses

 

Sunday, July 7, 2024

Roses

 Here is another of Tuesday 4 invented by Toni Taddeo and kept alive in her memory.     White June is the month of roses, they do bloom all summer long and well past September in many places.

1. What is your favorite color of roses? Orange Do you have a favorite kind of rose? I have memories of mom and dad having red climbing roses hanging of the split rail fence around our back patio in the home we lived in from the time I was 3 through 2nd grade, I think.  My friend grows these roses in her yard and brought me some earlier this year.  The orange are my favorite.

2. Do you ever buy flowers for your home? Yes, every once in a while I do.

3. Are there any roses in your yard or neighborhood? There are some around our neighborhood. If not what kind of things grow around you? There are all kinds of flowers around our neighborhood.  Here are a couple that I have seen while out walking with Lucy.

  

4. What do you see when you look out your front door? My hummingbird feeder.   How about out your kitchen window or back door? The neighborhood cats who like to sleep on our outdoor swing. 

I'm planning to start blogging again, but I'm sure it will take me a bit to get back into the swing of it.  The break has been really good for me, but I've really missed blogging.  I have read quite a few of your blog posts over the month I was gone, but didn't comment too much.  

This was a pretty easy one to start back with.

Cathy

Break Time

I'll be taking a bit of a break from blogging.  Lots of life is happening right now and I need to let some things go.  I may still come around and visit, but I won't be posting for a bit. At this time, I don't know how long that will be. Please don't worry. I'm fine, but again I just need a break. Take care and know that I appreciate each one of you.

Cathy

Bits of This and That

We had a nice quiet weekend, just the way I like it. We were mostly home where I just did normal things like cleaning some, laundry, a little cooking, finished a book and started another, but really nothing special. We did watch the the National Memorial Day Concert and loved it like we do every year. I especially like the biographies that are acted out by some stars and then we got to see the actual persons themselves. This is always a favorite part of mine. I also love when they play and sing the anthems for each branch of the service. 

Below are a couple of pictures I took this weekend. 

Below I am attaching the pre-recorded copy of Sunday's Sermon.

Hope you had a nice weekend and thanks for visiting.

Cathy

Share 4 Somethings - May 2024

My May edition of Share 4 Somethings, where I'll talk about the things I loved or disliked, accomplished, improved upon or something that needs improvement, and noticed throughout May. Link-up is here. Link-up is here.

Loved or Disliked: I really loved our ladies Bible Study, which I've mentioned several times before. I love these ladies and enjoy talking about the things of God with them and also just talking about life with them too. I learn so much from them and am constantly being encouraged by them.

I also enjoyed Mother's Day. I heard from both girls and then I loved going out to spending time with my MIL and and my husband's brother and wife and youngest son. So much great conversation.

I also love these beautiful roses given to me
 by a sweet lady at church who grew them herself.

I disliked some of the storms we had, but I am so thankful we were kept safe through them all.

Accomplished: I got my annual mammogram done and all looks good. I'm almost 8 years cancer free. Thank you God. This is my annual reminder to all who read this...Don't forget to get the "girls" checked cause you don't want to be like me and only have one "girl" to get checked. And no, they don't give discounts because you only have one to get mashed! lol

Improved Upon or Something that Needs Improvement: I really need to get out and do some yard work. My bushes need to be trimmed again. I have a spot in the back yard I need to plant some grass seed. I also bought some sandpaper and black spray paint, because the rockers on the front porch need to be painted again. Let's see if I can get these things completed before the next Share 4 Somethings.

Noticed: This morning as I walked with Lucy, I noticed these flowers in the neighborhood. 

 

Thanks for visiting. Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Cathy