Share 4 Something - February 2025

Today is the time for Share 4 Somethings.  Jennifer has given us these prompts to talk about:  things we loved, some things we learned, some things that went well, and some things we let go of.  Here's the Link-up. So here we go!

Things I Loved:  I have really loved reading this month.  I've read six books and I'm in the middle of 3 others.  One of the 3 is a companion book to the Bible Study my daughter and I are doing together.  I also enjoyed working a puzzle earlier in the month and I finished another last night.  I picked up 4 more from my sister yesterday to work.  Puzzles are a good evening activity during this cold weather.

Some Things I've Learned:  I love doing Bible study with my daughter.  I learn so much from her thoughts and hopefully she learns some from me.  I didn't necessarily just learn that this month but it's reinforced every time we do a new one together.

Some Things That Went Well:  I'm almost finished with the current blanket I'm crocheting.  I think I'll probably get it finished before the end of the month (hopefully today) and that makes me happy,

Some Things I Let Go Of:  I was reading the Bible through chronologically and I've done it before.  But I just feel like I'm reading just to say I've done it and wasn't getting too much out of it.  So after talking with hubby, I decided to drop trying to read to a schedule and instead I've decided to start in the Psalms and slow down and try to enjoy and learn what God wants to tell me.  To just spend time in His Presence. I may read one chapter or I may read just 1 verse.  I just want to be with Him.  God wants me to want Him as much as He wanted me. (After all, He sent Jesus to die for me.)  Please understand, I'm not writing this to say reading through the Bible in a year is bad. I think reading through the Bible in a year can be a good thing (and it has been for me in the past) but currently, I just feel this is more what I need.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great day!

Cathy

Share 4 Somethings - January 2025

 

This is my January post of Share 4 Somethings hosted by Jennifer at My Joyful Life.  The prompts are:  some things I loved, some things I learned, some things that went well, and some things I let go of.  Link-up is here. 

Some Things I Loved:  One of my favorites is the extra time I've spent at home this month because of the weather.  

And we still have a lot of this snow on the ground.

I've enjoyed the 4 books I've read this month too.  You can see the ones I read in the sidebar. 

I also loved this blanket that I bought on Amazon.  We now have 5 of them and really love them.  

Lucy loves them too and so does hubby (He bought one for himself too.)

Some Things I Learned:  I made a hat on my knitting machine and I haven't done that for a couple of years.  I had to relearn completely how to work the thing.  Spent some time on YouTube watching videos and was finally able to do it. 

Some Things That Went Well:  We finally got our crochet group back together and we totally had a great time crocheting and talking together.  I missed that time the weeks we didn't meet up because of the holidays and then the weather.  Even more than the crochet I love the rich conversations we have and all that I learn from these girls.  

Doing a Bible study with my daughter again.  "Discerning the Voice of God" by Priscilla Shirer.  Totally enjoying it and loving discussing together what we're learning.

Some Things I Let Go Of:  I donated several bags and boxes of clothes and other things from my efforts to do some decluttering.  Have some more things I'm packing up.  I'm beginning to believe that decluttering is a constant activity and not a one and done thing.

Thanks for visiting and the link is in the first paragraph if you'd like to join in with Jennifer.  It's always on the last Saturday of the month and the prompts she gave for this month are the same she plans to use the whole year.  Thanks Jennifer for hosting Share 4 Somethings.

Cathy

Share 4 Somethings - November 2024

  

This is my November post of Share 4 Somethings, where I'll talk about the things I loved/disliked, accomplished, improved upon/needs improvement and something I noticed. Link-up is here.  

Loved or Disliked:  I'm loving watching all the Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channels and Great American Family Channel.  I'm also enjoying working jigsaw puzzles. 

 

 

Accomplished: I finished crocheting and gifting the baby blanket I made for our nephew's new baby.

          

Improved Upon/Needs Improvement: I've been pretty behind on my reading goal for 2024.  I improved on this by reading several books in October and November.  I still need to read 9 more to reach my goal.  I probably won't reach that goal, but I'm happy with what I've read.  

Noticed: Winter is here.  We've had some snow a few days ago and now the temperature has dropped a lot and it appears it's going to stay this way for a bit. It's Friday night as I'm editing this post and it's snowing (really just flurries, but it looks like it's sticking).  We didn't expect it. But on a Friday night when I don't have to go anywhere, I can certainly enjoy it and say, "Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

That's the end of my Share 4 Somethings for this month.  Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great weekend. Again, the Link-up is here.  

Cathy

Share 4 Somethings - September 2024

 

This is my September post of Share 4 Somethings, where I'll talk about the things I loved/disliked, accomplished, improved upon/needs improvement and something I noticed. Link-up is here.  

Loved or Disliked:  I've been enjoying working jigsaw puzzles this month.  Fall and winter are my favorite times to work puzzles. Just started another last night and plan to finish today.  That will make a total of 4 puzzles for me this year.

Currently working this one

Accomplished: I’ve read 3 books this month. I'm rather behind on my 2024 Reading Challenge.  I'm not sure I'll reach the goal, but I am sure I will enjoy whatever progress I make.

Improved Upon/Needs Improvement: Grooming definitely improved Lucy's look.

Before

After

Noticed: The days are getting shorter and cooler and we're finally getting some much needed rain.  Yay!  I actually wore a 3 quarter length sleeved shirt yesterday which I wore last fall and winter.  And I've worn my hoodie a couple times too.

That's the end of my Share 4 Somethings this month.  Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great weekend. Again, the Link-up is here.  

Cathy

Share 4 Somethings - August 2024

This is my August edition of Share 4 Somethings, where I'll talk about the things I loved/disliked, accomplished, improved upon/needs improvement and something I noticed. Link-up is here. 

Loved or Disliked: I love that hubby and I both had birthdays in August.  We just bought a birthday cake this past weekend to share for both our birthdays and we enjoyed some of that (the rest of it went out in the trash this morning, because we definitely do not need to eat the whole cake).

Accomplished: I read 4 books in August and have 2 more started.  I'm rather behind on my 2024 Reading Challenge.  I'm not sure I'll reach the goal, but I am sure I will enjoy whatever progress I make.

Improved Upon/Needs Improvement: I've improved on my walking routine in August, especially the last 2 weeks.  I've only missed one day closing all the rings on my Apple watch and I've already got a good start today.

Noticed: I love to go to the movies with my cousins.  Three of us went last week and saw the new Kendrick Brothers movie, The Forge.  I loved this movie and I loved the time with my cousins.  After the movie, we went to Red Robin for dinner.  I had their cheeseburger and it was delicious!  I rarely eat a burger out, but I noticed that I really did enjoy it.

That's the end of my Share 4 Somethings this month.  Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great weekend. Again, the Link-up is here.  

I think I'm going to put up some of our fall decorations today, I mean after all it is September 2nd.  lol  Also, hubby and I watched the first Harry Potter movie on Saturday evening.  Plans are to watch 1 a week until we've been through the entire set, which means we should finish mid October.  This is an annual thing with us each fall.  Well, actually we skipped it last year. But we're back again this year. 

Cathy

Share 4 Somethings - July 2024

 

This is my July edition of Share 4 Somethings, where I'll talk about the things I loved/disliked, accomplished, improved upon/needs improvement and something I noticed. Link-up is here. 

Loved or Disliked: I loved having Kelli home with us for 4 days this month.  I loved talking with her, shopping with her, eating with her, seeing a movie with her, playing games with her and visiting family with her.  Anything we did together was something I loved.  And I really loved listening to her and her daddy talking together.  They hadn't seen each other in over 2 years!

Accomplished: Replaced the stove/oven and dishwasher as both went kaput this month!

Improved Upon/Needs Improvement: I've improved on my walking routine in July, but I still need to be more consistent...but at least I've improved.

Noticed: I have only completed 2 books in the month of July, however I have watched a few more movies than normal though.  I've watched several movies from the FRNDLY app and Netflix too. Plus Kelli and I went to the theater to see "Sound of Hope, the Story of Possum Trot".  It was an excellent movie and I'm so glad we took the time to go see it. I've enjoyed the movies, but I'm starting to miss the reading. Maybe I can add 1 more book read before the end of the month.

That's the end of my Share 4 Somethings this month.  Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great weekend. Again, the Link-up is here. 

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

Share 4 Somethings - April

 

Good morning!

I'm linking up with the April edition of Share 4 Somethings. We'll be talking about things we've loved or disliked, accomplished, improved upon or something that needs improvement, and noticed. 

*Loved - I've finally started using my air fryer some and I have to say, I'm starting to kind of like it. We'll see if in time I can say that I actually love it.

*Accomplished - I've finally got my reading mojo back. I've read 6 books this month, which is quite a lot for me. I've really been enjoying it too. You can check what I've been reading in my sidebar if you'd like or go to my Goodreads account.

*Needs Improvement - It's time to go through my closet and put the winter clothes away and bring out the summer ones. I also need to get rid of the clothes I haven't worn in a couple of years. I do not enjoy this task, but I do love a freshly purged closet.

*Noticed - I took Lucy out for a walk this morning and saw a beautiful hawk hanging around. I don't think he liked me taking his picture. He flew away right after taking this. Not the best picture, but the best I could get at the time.

Well that's it for April. You can link up here if you'd like.  Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great weekend.

Cathy

Share 4 Somethings - March 2024

Welcome to my Share 4 Somethings Post where the prompts for March are:

things I loved or disliked, 

things I accomplished, 

things I improved upon or something that needs improvement, and 

things I noticed this month. 

The Link-Up is here.  Now here I go.

*Loved:  One of my favorite things I loved in March this year was doing Bible Study with my daughter on FaceTime.  We would each watch the video and then do the homework on our own. Then we would FaceTime and talk about our thoughts about all that we were learning. My daughter brings so much insight when we talk which helps me to grow more in Christ and I think I sometimes I help her also. She is a great Bible Study companion. We're planning to do another sometime soon. She gets to pick the next one.

*Accomplished:  I finished a baby blanket I've been working on for a few months. I haven't taken a picture of the finished project yet. I'll try to do that sometime soon. Anyway, I always feel accomplished when I finish a crochet project.

*Improved:  I switched the furniture around in my little office at church and I really am enjoying the way it is now. I now face the door out to the sanctuary, so I see hubby most every time he leaves his office, and I can holler a hello or something similar to him throughout the day. I love that we are together so much since I retired.

*Noticed:  With the rain we have been having, our grass has greened up so much and it looks wonderful. I'm also seeing so many spring flowers and trees blooming in the neighborhood. I do love this time of year.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Cathy

Share 4 Somethings - February 2024

 

Today is the February edition of Share 4 Somethings, where we're talking about some things we loved or disliked, accomplished, improved upon or something that needs improvement, and noticed this month. I hope you make plans to join Jennifer and the rest of us!  Link-up here.  It's always the last Saturday of every month. 

Loved - We had Olive Garden yesterday for lunch and I enjoyed that.  I'm still loving the books I'm reading.  I've started another series by the same author and it takes place during the time of the King Saul.  I haven't actually started reading it yet, but I checked it out through Libby.  I need to finish another book I have first.  It shouldn't take too long.

Accomplished - Our neighbors hired a crew to take down some trees in their yard and one of them saw me outside and came over and asked if we were interested in having the wood line at the back of our lot cleaned up some.  The last couple of years, the honeysuckle has grown wild and hubby and I are just not able to keep up with it like we used to.  So, we hired them to do it for us.  They did a pretty good job, of course it will look a lot better when the leaves grow back.  Right now it looks like a bunch of dead trees left.  lol (I'll try to remember to post a picture this spring,)  Below are a couple of photos of the stack of brush they cleaned out.  They came back yesterday and chipped them up and got them out of the front yard.  I'm so glad that task has been completed.

Improved -  We've improved some of our eating habits.  We're eating more salads at home and I'm really enjoying that.  I've also enjoyed some Cobb salads when we've gone out for lunch.  Wendy's has a really good Cobb salad and so does Outback.  I'm eating more fish too.  He kept telling me to eat salmon.  I said I don't like salmon, how about other fish.  He said all fish is good except not Long John Silvers.  lol   We still need to do better, but I think it's not a bad start.

Noticed - I'm noticing more and more that getting old is definitely not for sissies.  Seems like so many people I know are fighting health issues of some kind. Whether it's hip replacements, knee replacements, heart issues, cancer, etc.  While I know you don't have to be old to need these things, I think recovery is a little harder for the elderly.  But even though getting older is not easy, I'm so glad to be alive and I think I appreciate that fact more every day.  I no longer just take life for granted.

Thanks for visiting.  What have you loved, accomplished, improved or noticed in February?

Cathy

Sharing 4 Somethings - January 2024

 

Today is our first Share 4 Somethings of 2024 and we're sharing some things we've loved and/or disliked, accomplished, some things we've improved up and/or that need improvement, and noticed.

Loved - I've loved spending a little more time at home.  With the snow and really cold temperatures, we've opted not to go out some days.  I'm loving watching The Chosen again.  I'm also loving listening to the gospels with Annie F. Downs.  

Accomplished - I finished putting away Christmas decorations and have 3-4 big boxes to donate.  I know I will be happy for that next year when I don't have to carry all those boxes in and go through them to decide what I want to use. 

Improved/Still improving -  I'm liking the results of downsizing and decluttering some.  I'm very slow at this process, but I'm loving the results.

Noticed - I've noticed that my reading has slowed down some.  I'm reading the 3rd book in a series and the main character was introduced in book 2 and I didn't much care for her (not knowing she would be the main character in this book)  but I want to finish it (although, I know I said in an earlier post that I rarely finish a book I don't like) so I can read book 4.  So while that has slowed me down, I intend to pick it back up this weekend and get on with my reading goal for the year.

That's my 4 Somethings to share.  You can click here if you'd like to link up.

Thanks for visiting.

Cathy

Share 4 Somethings - December 2023

 

Good Morning:

Today I'm linking up with Jennifer for Share 4 Somethings. We're talking about things loved, learned, read, ate and/or enjoyed this month of December, 2023.  

Loved - I've really enjoyed the decorations in our home.  I'm so glad I actually put up a tree this year.  I've also loved going out with hubby and my mother-in-law several times just viewing mostly neighborhood lights.

Learned - I've enjoyed learning more about the names of Jesus spoken of in Isaiah.  I've heard these names almost all my life, but I love coming to understand them more.  I think my favorite was Sar Shalome, Prince of Peace. If you are interested, you can look over the last months Bits of This and That posts where I've attached pre-recordings of hubby's sermons on this topic,

Read - I've read 5 books in December:  

Appointment at Christmas Bay by Diane Chase

A Castle for Christmas by Stephenia H. McGee

Cobbler Girl by Jean L. Kuhnke

Counted with the Stars by Connilyn Cossette

Shadow of the Storm by Connilyn Cossette

Enjoyed - I've enjoyed listening to Christmas music, watching Christmas movies and just enjoying the season.  

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Cathy