Continuing On

I see that I have no comments on my post. That is fine because I just want to write and tell my adventures.  I finished cleaning my house, getting rid of junk and going through many journals, letters, stories and notes. Most of the paperwork I threw out but the nice things I donated. Now I am free to be and do. 

I just finished doing a speech for my ladies' church group breakfast. I am also a "detective for a S. Holmes.

My gardening is a bust. Have to clear out spring flowers and weed and see if any of the little seeds I planted last year come up. They should, but we'll see.

Being in my 7th decade, I feel I have a lot to share. What I learned from all my writings is: spend time on what counts for eternity. For me that is God first and then my family. That is something you won't regret.   

 Hi, this is Nancy. Just a little update. Ha! I have just finished cleaning my house. So great to be done. At the same time, I am sorting and throwing out a lot of stuff. I go through it periodically, but I was recently introduced to The Minimalists . The idea touched me so much. With fewer possessions, you can focus on people, ideas, and have time to be creative. Haven't been  on this blog for 6 years. Now I have nine grandchildren. They keep me busy. Each one is so special and precious. I am still at my same church, doing the same two prayer groups. I am going to do a speech before too long. I'm so glad to be getting back to that. Our Senior Center reopened and I am still enjoying fellowship with other artists as well as doing new watercolors. Right now I'm into doing flowers. Last February, we went to St Augustine just before the Coronavirus  hit. Maybe my husband and I can travel somewhere in the fall. I look pretty much like the top picture in the last post. My hair is brunette and about three inches past shoulder length, parted in the middle. 

My children have moved on. The eldest, his wife and little daughter live in Detroit. We love to go and see the sights. My second son and his wife live near us. He creates strategy games and his wife is working on her doctorate. Their children are all busy. My daughter lives near Lansing with her husband who is a nurse and the kids who are trying to make sense of this on again-off again schooling.  

So glad it's spring. I have so many ideas and so much to do. Maybe I will share it here.  Till then, blessings to you!

Hello!  I am just trying out a blog to see what happens.  I had a blog from about 2009 - 2013.  Now I just want to see if this works and see if I can reconnect with a few of my people.

I now have 6 grandchildren and I love spending time with them.  I have taken up painting watercolors.  I am in a free class at the Senior Center since Feb. of  this year.  What a relaxing occupation.  I just love it.

I am still busy with my church.  I help with missions and am in two prayer groups.

My husband and I love to travel.  This year we visited Miami Beach and Key West.  I just love it at both these places.  We got there on a Senior Citizen bus trip.  Long, long, ride.

I was letting my gray hair grow out, but realized it would take most of my life to get it all one color.  So I just got it a bit lighter, but the prettiest color I've had.

So I am going to see if I can round up the "usual suspects" and get in touch with my former bloggers.  A few I follow on Facebook, but I'd like to try doing this blog every so often.  O.K.?  Sending out lots of blessings, Nancy

A Little Bit about the Saguaro Cactus

I was recently in Arizona and some family members were sharing stories.  I shared one about birds building nests in a cactus and putting a kind of tar in the hole that fire proofed it, I thought.  They joked with me about it.  I knew I had information on this somewhere.  So for those "Doubting Thomases," here is what I found from a previous trip to Arizona.  I thought some readers might enjoy these facts, too.

We were on a jeep trip to the desert and saw a lot of the large Saguaro cactus.  When the cactus gets wounded, like the top gets knocked off, baby plants grow from the stump.  When birds make a hole and a nest in  the cactus, the hole gets covered with a stuff like tar to completely surround the hole.  (This whole thing can come out and it looks like a boot.)  The rest of the cactus is sealed and retains moisture.

Cactus don't even get to branch out till they are 70 years or older. 

I got my facts mixed up a bit and the tar is to retain moisture, not for fire prevention.  When I get an image in my head, it stays there.  I was sure I heard about the tar in the bird's nest.

It's amazing.  God certainly put a lot of time and effort into seeing that a Saguaro cactus servives, even though it may be way out in the desert and never seen.

Surely, He will care for us, His children.  We have protections, too.  Think how marvelous our bodies are - their healing properties.  God is certainly an awesome God. 

Good-bye For Now

I thought the anniversary of my four year blog would be a good time to do this.  I'm saying good-bye.  I'm ending my blog.  There may be a few other posts here and there if I have something important to say.  Basically, I feel that I have said all that I wanted to say.  I have posted one of my novels, several poems, devotions, and essays.  I hope I have shared the measure of God's love that He has for me and for you.  I have shared a bit of nostalgia with you.  I have done a journal type post where I share my thoughts as I go through life.  I believe I have done only one re-post in the 4 year time.  That was about my son leaving for college and it is one of my favorite.

Having grandchildren has made me very busy.  As I like to say, it's a "good busy."  Nevertheless, my time is at a premium.  And I need more time to rest and have "think days" than I did four years ago.

When I started blogging, I still believed that I had a published book in me.  I was eager to learn from other authors how to write better.  As things moved along, technology moved with us.  I found that it is moving faster than I can keep up.  I'm not sure that I belong to this modern age.  I know that I can still use the internet and I plan to visit my followers on their posts.  I've put in a good effort on this blog.  I am proud of my four years.  It was just a little experiment.  It never went sky high, but I enjoyed doing it so much.  I love all of my followers and will continue to pray for you.

You can always find me on Facebook.  I don't keep up on that too much, but I enjoy seeing what others have to say.  So, good-bye for now...on this post.

Four Years and Four Hundred Blogs

Today is the anniversary of my first blog.  Actually it was April 24, 2009.  But that's close enough.  When I started, I just wanted to have a place to post all of the stories, devotions, poems and little writings that I had collected.  I thought it would be fun to let it be a sort of journal of my life, too.  And that is what it turned out to be. 

Several of my fellow bloggers started that same year.  I was lucky enough to find one terrific writer and from her blog, I got other writer friends.  It was so much fun watching the people I had written to follow me on my own blog.  I have made so many good friends.

There may have been Facebook, but Twitter came later and Pinterest and all of the other new social networks.  I didn't even have a good computer back then and had to go to the library twice a week to blog.  It was worth it.  For four years, I have had the opportunity to learn so much from other bloggers.

So, today I just want to celebrate the many friendships and joys of blogging.  I have 368 regular posts and 41 of the "Tell Me a Story" blog.  That makes over 400 blogs.  And the ones that were the most fun were the one where I just sat and talked to you as friends.

I will have a bit more about this next week.  See you then.  Nancy 

Sitcom or Reality?

I wanted to tell you that the "something special" on my LBD was that I happened to put my rhinestone
JESUS pin right in the center pocket.  It was so cool to see it there in the picture. I used to wear that pin on my denim jacket or my dark flannel dress.  I got a lot of comments on it and it was a great story starter.

I had my birthday last week and several family members made it so special.  Did you ever feel like you just needed a boost?  Well, my family and friends (including some of you on Facebook,) gave me just the little jolt of joy I needed.  Thanks to all of you.

On another note, I miss the old sitcoms that used to be on TV.  My favorite was The Andy Griffith Show.  Barney always made me roar with laughter and Andy and Opie were so good together.  Another show I loved was the first The Bob Newhart Show.  The characters were so funny and Bob was so deadpan.  He always did a great job.  I thought Susanne Pleshette was so pretty and I loved the way she and Bob joked with each other.

The last show we watched was Monk.  I love mysteries.  The fact that he was a bit odd made it fun for because I have just a few of the same little quirks.  (Ex. - hating to merge with traffic.)

There are a few reality shows that we like.  My favorite is American Pickers.  Two guys go all over the midwest and buy junk for their two stores.  It's always rusted signs and what looks like junk to me, but they are very knowledgeable and people seem to want to buy what they "pick."  They are also very kind and generous. 

I also love the shows Chopped and Worst Cooks in America.  The latter shows me that even though I rarely cook a meal, I could, and I am NOT the worst cook, by far.

So, do you watch the new sitcoms or are you all reality oriented?  Is there a special old show you miss?