Looking To Spring

I have to say that I have enjoyed this "winter/spring thing" more than I can tell. I don't remember any winter ever in my life that was this good. I know we still have a month and a half of possible bad weather in Michigan, but that doesn't change the fact that we have had almost a year of great weather. I love it when the sun shines in my bedroom window. I feel as if The Lord were saying. "Good Morning, Nancy. Hope you have a lovely day." And I do and did. A lot of things that were covered over and dark were healed during this time and also with my "new way of looking at things." So that even on a dark or rainy day, I could still see God above the clouds, smiling at me.

Many years ago, I recall a spring day that was balmy and I went a little crazy with spring fever. I wanted to jump and run and be silly. It was that kind of thing. There were other days in Ohio that I remember that feeling. But for too many years in Michigan, I haven't had any of them. Then here comes The Lord with a host of sunny days and not just that, but balmy ones where I want to pinch myself for joy. Oh, it makes me feel young. It makes me feel that anything can happen.

I'm ready for pretty colors: pink and blue and purple and yellow. I'm ready for blossoms (like they had in Nashville when we were there.) I'm ready for green grass and going out in a T-shirt, jeans and light jacket. Are you four-season people ready for Spring?

Nashville Part II

After we visited with my daughter and her family for a while, Larry and I headed off to Nashville. I love the area. We got lost locating the new site of the Grand Ole Opry. We had wanted to see a show in the new auditorium. It turned out that the theater was being used for a private party at the time. The picture of me beside the giant guitar was taken outside this facility. We then decided to retry visiting the Country Music Hall Of Fame. The last time we were there a few years ago, we were on the second floor, just beginning to enjoy the Hank Williams exhibit when the lights went out. There was a blackout in the city and we had to leave the museum. This time we saw the whole thing, but we just missed the Hank Williams display by a few weeks. They change things around and we just had a different exhibit. I enjoyed it anyway as I like to see the films they have of old time T.V. shows. I saw a very young Dolly Parton.

In the next few days, Larry played golf at a club in Murfreesboro or near there and he used his new hickory shaft clubs on a few holes. He is always getting into something new with golf. Dawn, our daughter played and I rode along. (I tried golf early in our marriage, but I was awful. There is really no other word to describe it.) Dawn and I went shopping for her baby to be and for a few maternity things for her.

On the way home, we stopped at Louisville, Kentucky and toured the Louisville Slugger factory. That's a picture of me swinging Mickey Mantle's bat. The tour was fun and informative. We each got a miniature bat as a souvenir.
Our trip home was uneventful. We stayed overnight in Ohio and came home on Friday. There's so much to see in Nashville, I'm glad my relatives are there so we can continue to enjoy the wonderful city.

Nashville Bound

We started our trip to Murfreesboro on Friday, March 2. We were headed for the southern part of Kentucky when our country radio station interrupted with tornado warnings. These were for Indiana and lower Kentucky. They said, "take shelter immediately." We were listening and much of the bad weather was where we had just been driving. Then they spotted a tornado touch down in Carrollton. We were passing over the city limit sign a few moments later. The thing is, we had nowhere to go. We were out in the middle of nowhere. I started praying and I prayed for my husband to do what the Lord wanted him to do. We were also hit with almost blinding rain and hail. Hail as big as baseballs or bigger was predicted in some areas. Finally we pulled off to a strip mall that offered protection for half of our car front. When the rain let up, we drove on. We then entered an area where about 15 minutes before had been exposed to driving rain and hail. So basically, the Lord took us all around the tornado and bad weather area. I learned on my return that my neighbor had been faithfully praying for us. This rainbow came just as the weather broke. At first it was a double rainbow. What a sign of God's care and protection!

We finally stopped in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Boy was I glad to get out of that car. The next day, we drove on to Nashville and then Murfreesboro. We met our daughter and she took us to a Sweet Ce Ce's Yogurt place. It was all decorated for spring and was so cheerful. I broke my "no sweets" thing and we all had frozen yogurt. Then we turned a knob here and used a scoop there and our healthy yogurt was full of tasty candies, treats, etc. I'm so glad for vacations on my diet, too. That evening we met Dawn's husband and we all went to a Mexican restaurant and I had the best enchiladas I have ever eaten. Next time, I'll tell you about a few of the touristy things we did in Nashville and the area. Stay tuned.

The Fun Of Collections

Are you a collector? I didn't mean to collect all of the salt and pepper shakers I have, but the antique store just had so many and once I got started, I enjoyed the journey. Right now I have enough and more. Pretty soon, I'm going to have to be in that "one in, one out" mode. There is just no cabinet space for more and I don't intend to build extra shelves to hold my collection. My dad made this little white shelf about twenty years ago. It has housed many things in its time. I have some S and Ps on the windowsill and I love to use them for holidays.

If I put them on the table, my husband expects there to be salt and pepper in them so quite a few of them are filled. My favorite ones are either a holiday theme or a couple: boy and girl, man and woman, etc. I like each one of the pair to be a little bit different like the little Irish girls. They can be the same if they are spectacular like a set of little green Sprite bottles I have.

I also collect old books that I loved as a girl, little brightly painted juice glasses, and I did collect Toby mugs. These are little English men with tricorn hats. I'm pretty filled up with the glasses and the Toby mugs. One thing I'd like to find is a white primary color fruity table cloth like the ones from the 50's. And it needs to be square. I don't want to spend a lot, so there is that element of the hunt left for me. I only need one or two of those.

Do you collect anything? What kinds of places are the best for the hunt?

I am off to Tennessee on Friday to visit my daughter who moved down there with her husband last August. We are so excited to see her and visit Nashville again. So I will not be posting for approximately two weeks. See you then. It will be almost spring!

One Backward Look

Something new happens all of the time. This time my scanner decided to have fun and make the picture very small. It is still big enough for me to make my point. See that little girl way over on the right of the group. This is a picture of my grandparents, Mom and Dad, and sisters at Niagara Falls. I must have been way into something else to miss the spectacular falls and be looking at my shoes.

The funny thing is that I do remember the falls and that trip. That little girl was different. She didn't always think the same way as other people. She often had a best friend but few extra friends. She loved books and dolls. She loved animals. She even loved church.

I have recently been on a search for Grace. I want to give myself permission to live and live without guilt or all of the negative things that used to occupy my brain. This idea of letting God love me and having everything else move from that point is rather new for me. I was always a doer, a striver. Now, what I do comes from this place of peace and joy.

I would love to go back in time just this once and hug that little girl and say, "I love you. You will be just fine. God loves you and that's the best kind of news there is." And then I would come back to my family and my everyday life and just live in the contentment and trust of the Lord that I have been given. This is my new thing. I'm looking to Jesus to help me go forward and not go back again, except to rejoice in the wonderful things He has done.

Valentine's Day Rests Softly In My Heart

I guess you could say that this is my Valentine's Day blog II. Since that is my favorite day of the whole year, I'm going to go ahead and let myself have a sequel. I was putting off making my cards this year. Getting started and getting things out is the worst part of any job for me. But once I "made a mess" all over the table so I could be creative, the fun started. I usually do each card differently. This year I decided to do one basic design and use various papers. Since they are home made, no two are exactly alike. Oh the fun I had and they were made with love for each person concerned.

I told a family member that what I love about this day is that it's so simple. My husband and I don't buy expensive gifts. One year he gave me a selection of red objects from the dollar store and I loved it. I just feel like a kid all day. I love to look at all of the "penny" valentines they still make. They aren't as cute as they were when I was a girl, but I still get my kicks looking at them. I love the store windows in lace with red and white confections of every type. We will be going out to eat and I like to dress up and think lovely romantic thoughts like - how did I get such a wonderful person to share my life all these years? Well, that was God's grace, pure and simple. Hoping you will have a wonderful Valentine's Day. Nancy

Colors Of The Year

It's finally February. Oh, I love January with its fresh beginnings and brand new year, but even without the snow we usually have, I'm tired of white and ready for red. Yes, my months come in colors. January is white for snow, February is red for Valentines Day, March is green for St. Patrick's Day, April is pink and yellow for Easter, May is purple for lilacs, June is primary colors for sunny beach days, July is red, white, and blue for the fourth of July. Aug. is orange and yellow for crops, September is brown, red, and yellow for the leaves, Oct. is black and orange for tradition, Nov. is purple, brown, and orange for the cornucopia, and Dec. is red and green. These aren't exact, but when I was a teacher, I needed to do a seasonal bulletin board and these were my basic colors.
I love February. There's Groundhog Day, Valentines Day, Abraham Lincoln's birthday, George Washington's birthday, and it's the shortest month. What's not to love?

I will love every day this month because next comes March with its unpredictability and strange weather changes. I'm loving our "spring thaw." But green is a great color, so March has something going for it. Hope you liked my calendar color coding. We elementary teachers have to do something to keep the cute little rug rats smiling.

Do your months come in colors? When you turn a page, do you just think "white?" Any other teachers think like I do? Anyway, have a very colorful day.