Thankful Thursday

 

Today I am thankful for our neighbor.  Actually, all of our neighbors are great.  I think we're the oldest of all our direct neighbors.  I know there are older ones further up the road, but our direct neighbors on both sides and across the street I believe are younger than us.  So many times one or the other have helped us or at least offered to help. They have always treated us very good.  But this week the man that lives right across the street from us was a major help to us.  

With all the snow we had Sunday and Monday (9 1/2 inches) we were definitely snowed in.  When it finally stopped snowing and I noticed he was out across the street cleaning (with a snow blower) his drive, I finally decided to go try to shovel us out.  I knew I was going to have to do it just a bit at a time and rest and then continue.  Hubby can no longer do that kind of physical labor but we needed to be able to get out sooner or later.  Hubby was worried about me doing it because I had gotten a report last year that I have a heart murmur and that probably sometime in the next 6-8 years I would have to have my aortic valve replaced (my mom had the same thing).  So he was inside praying that God would watch over me or send someone to do the drive for us.

The neighbor next door was shoveling his drive when I came out and we talked for a few minutes.  I started shoveling and I heard someone yell.  I looked up and saw Tom across the street in his garage and he told me to stop shoveling.  He said he'd be right over to do our drive.  Within 5-10 minutes God had answered hubby's prayer and the neighbor did an excellent job for us.  I tried to give him gas money, but he refused it.  I thanked him over and over.  He was just so kind and did such a good job.  I am so thankful for our neighbors!  

God is so good and so are our neighbors!

Cathy

Currently - January 2025

 

Today is time for the first Currently post of 2025.  The topics are  what we're currently loving, doing to stay warm, resolving, organizing, and wearing. 

Loving:  I'm loving staying home.  After church on Sunday the roads were already covered with a light layer of snow, so we picked up some lunch from Arby's and came straight home.  We have not moved the car since.  And let me tell you I have totally enjoyed being at home all this time.  Seldom do we spend more than one day without leaving the house...but this has been nice.

Doing to Stay Warm:  If I'm up and active, like cooking or cleaning or whatever, then I have no problem staying warm.  If I'm reading or watching TV or crocheting, I have a blanket over me to keep warm.

Resolving:  To read the Bible chronologically this year and to read 60 books.  I missed this last year by 6 books.  We'll see if I do better this year.  It really doesn't matter, but it just helps me not to get too lazy about reading.

Organizing:  I've gone through some mail that I let stack up.  Then I got all the Christmas put away and now I'm deciding what I want to keep and put back out for this time of year.  I'm definitely trying to get a less cluttered look, keeping it easy to dust the furniture without so many knick knacks.

Wearing:  Right now I'm wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt.  I need the sweatpants to keep the wind from cutting through and freezing my legs every time I take the dog out.  

So what are you doing currently.  Link up is here.

Cathy

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

1. At the end of every year (or at least since the mid-1970's) Lake Superior State University posts a list of words they think should be banished from the Queen's English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. You can read more about the decision making process , but this year's list includes- cringe, game changer, era, dropped, IFKYK (If you know you know), sorry not sorry, skibidi, 100%, utilize, and period. Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly or even just every now and then? How many did you have to look up? Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word/phrase not on the list you'd like to add? If so do share, then tell us why. I don't particularly have a problem with any of them.  However, I do not know skibidi.

2. Your favorite soup? Do you make this one yourself or is it from a can? Potato Soup and I make it.

3. How do you feel about winter? It's okay as long as I don't have to spend too much time out in the freezing cold.  From inside our warm house, it's beautiful.  What's one winter activity you look forward to? Being inside, reading a good book while wrapped in a warm blanket.

4. The Pantone color of the year for 2025 is mocha mousse (sample pictured here). What say you? I don't really like it. The website describes it as 'a warming, brown hue imbued with richness. It nourishes us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort'. Is this a color I might find in your home or wardrobe? Probably not. Is it one you might add in some big or small way in the year ahead? Nope In a similar, but not really vein...if I were to offer you a choice right now of either a cup of mocha or a cup of mousse which would you say yes to? Mousse

5. Which of the following winter related idioms can best be applied to your life in some way right now? Choose one, then tell us why you chose it. snowed under, on thin ice, tip of the iceberg, chill out, break the ice, snowball effect, not a snowball's chance in hell, get cold feet, the cold shoulder Snowed under, because we literally are. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

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

Cathy

Tuesday 4 - Hello January

 

Hello January

 

All in purple is from Annie and mine is black.  Welcome to the New Year friends and to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

Toni liked to talk about each new month and it's meanings. 

January was named for Janus the two faced god who looked behind and ahead.  Its the warmest month in the southern hemisphere and the coldest in the north.

Garnet is it's gem stone.  Garnets come in all colors but the rarest is the Tzavorite.   

January 7 is Eastern Orthodox Christmas because some eastern churches use the original Julian calendar which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.   

January become the first month of the year in 450BC for the Roman world .

Let's talk about two faced January.

1. Looking back, what do you hope continues or does not change in your life?  I hope we stay at least as well as we are and that hubby gets a lot of improvement in his health.

Carnations & Snow Drops

 2. What good came to you from the previous year?  Well, we survived.  We still love the Lord and more importantly, He still loves us.

3.  Are there things you hope to accomplish in the new year? Yes, I would like to get some updates done on our house and I would also like to get a new vehicle, as both of ours seem to be spending more time with the mechanic than with us.

4.  January's flowers are the carnation and the snow drop. Do you sometimes buy flowers for your home? What kinds of flowers to you like best? I like morning glories.  Sometimes I'll buy some flowers for in the house.  I do have a couple of artificial flower bouquets and green plants.  I really love those, because I can't kill them.  

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

Cathy

Bits of This and That

 

Good Morning:

It's a beautiful day here in SW Ohio.  Well, that is, if you like snow.  I call it beautiful because I don't have to go anywhere today and I'm so thankful for that.  I just went out and measured a spot and we have just shy of 7 inches and it's still coming down.  It's so deep that I had to dig out an area for Lucy to do her business.  Trust me her legs are not 7 inches long, which tells you where her tushy is if I didn't shovel her an area.  lol

Lucy in her spot

Photo pointing across the street.

These footsteps are across the front of our garage before I shoveled her a spot.  See here tiny prints at the bottom of the photo..  The snow is not as deep here, but it's still to much for her to go.  So I had to walk across and pick her up and bring her back again.  That's when I went back out and made her a place to go.  

We're hoping a kid from the neighborhood will come around asking to shovel for us.  Hubby is worried about me shoveling and he is not able to.  So we'll see what happens.  We've had kids come before.  It will probably be tomorrow though, as we're supposed to have snow all day.

We had a good service yesterday morning but by the time we left, there was already a covering of snow and it really hasn't stopped since.  But anyway, here's a copy of the pre-recorded sermon if you're interested.  He's started a new series in the book of James, which is one of my favorites.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you all have a really great day.  If you're in the snow area, be careful!!

Cathy