Warm Winter Thoughts

Winter in the South is a real change for a gal that spent most of her life in Minnesota. 

This is what I looked out upon in our Minnesota home.

This is our third winter and everyday is an experience worth having.  We've only enjoyed one real snow fall.  It was only three or four inches of snow that graced our warm southern soil.  We knew it wouldn't last but we treated it as though it was a holiday. 

Our community is ill equipped for snow removal and why should they, it only snowed once in the two full winters we have been here.

Children and parents alike pulled out the sled they store from year to year in hopes for just that, a sliding holiday.  Also knowing that the road we drive on is turned into a sliding slop and will be safe for at least one day. 

If the snow doesn't come we enjoy our gardens of winter plants and marvel at their growth.  For example, Saturday two weeks ago, I worked in the garden at my Home Depot.  Because it was 76 degrees, I sold more pansy's than the full week and in between I sold Christmas trees.  At the end of each transaction I wished the person "Merry Christmas," as I peered into their eyes I saw a smile, they also knew the weather wasn't matching the season.  But with a warm smile on their face Merry Christmas was their reply. 

With every experience, I find a memory that will be mine.  It's my gift to me.

Advent equals Event

I always loved the lighting of the Advent Candles. I thought of them as a candle calendar that would remind me of how much time I had left to get everything done leading to the big event...Christmas.

I made sure all was done before the fourth candle, which is light purple, was lit.  I believed that the week before Christmas was for me.  To watch Christmas movies and stay out of the last minute shoppers way.  I believe that most don't have the Christmas spirit, how they treat others around them proves it. 

Last Sunday as the first candle was proudly shining and Father Joe was finishing his Homily it hit me like a rock. It was as if I had never heard it before.  Maybe it was the way it was said. I don't know but my ears and my heart was really open for the first time. 

Here's the scoop. 

Every Advent we take the time to reflect. What you ask?  If you died, or simpler if God came to see YOU, would you be ready? 

Also, the Christmas season for Catholics start on Christmas day, while others are calling the holiday over we start it.  I hope your family has tradition that warms your heart. Brings tears to your eyes when you think on the previous holiday.  But most of all I hope you give Jesus a little time during your festivities.

For me I had better get to reflecting.  I too have far to travel before He comes to see me.

God Bless all those who travel through my little blog.
Carol

Something so small.

This morning I struggled to write on my blog.  I'm sometimes at loss for words.  I know my family and friends can hardly believe it.  But it's true that writing is a talent and I am not that talented at writing. I write from my heart, when my heart is hurt, it's hard to start.  But the other day I received a card that really warmed my heart. 

I wanted to share it. It's not the person that sent it, she is always there to make me feel special .It was the card it's self.  It was not only a hand crafted card, after looking at it and turning it over, I noticed it was made by my sister.

What a great day.

And thanks to Bossy Betty, for your post today. You warmed my heart.

God Bless to those traveling through my little blog.
Carol

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Thanksgiving is a day of thanks, did I do it justice, did I think of all those I love and friends I'm blessed to know?  Did I wake up with praise on my lips to a God who give me peace when peace is so hard to find? 

Would I find peace if I didn't believe in Him?  And would I have continued to make bad choices that would have drawn me down in spirit, the big question is...would I be here today? 

These questions travel through my thoughts as I lay warm in my bed surrounded by the breathing of my loving husband and Austin.  I don't know all the answers but I know one thing, questioning what might have happened, is just like loosing sleep, not worth the time spent.

I have always had the ability to believe in God, as mom once said, you can question your religion but not your faith.  I don't question either, I am at peace with my life. That doesn't mean my life is without struggle.  It just mean that while I am here on earth, I will deal with what comes my way with understanding, not with anger and revenge. 

I leave that up to people who see nothing left but to be angry.  There are way too many here on earth making peace something not possible. I hope I am joined today in thanking the faithful, who smiles and makes every breathing moment just a little easier. 

God Bless
Carol

An Apple a Day.

John and  I have developed our own little serenity plan. Our trip to North Carolina and into the mountains supplies us with an outing that takes only a few hours. It also gives Austin time to hang his head out the window and learn the skills of staying on his paws securely planted on his platform while taking all the curves.  This last trip to the mountains was to Sky Top Orchards, where even into November a wide variety of apples were there for our tasting and selecting.

As the sun shines through the windows of the car and we travel down the mountain with two big bags of apples, I realize how such a little trip can cure so many sad moments.  I am blessed to have a husband that listens when I say I am sad, and comes up with something so relaxing. 

God is good, and little things are given without fan fair.  This is what I am thankful coming into the beautiful holiday of Thanksgiving.

Carol

Life goes on....

I have to say that while I was busy getting my business in order, John was busy.  My brother Vern gave us a soft sided compost holder and for over a year we used it to see if composting would work. Would it fit into our neighborhood?  Would our weather work?  Would we use it enough to make it permanent? 

It worked and we got the best soil from it.  All green product, veg, and fruit debris was put into the composter and with the sun's power it became very nutritious ground. 

This summer John decided to make it permanent.  The floor of the composter was created with 16'' x 16'' concrete tiles.  The walls were built in reverse making it easy to turn the compost.

Proud of John and all he does for our beautiful gardens. 
Carol

Happy Halloween!

While many states are under the worst conditions, we as a nation support them. With donations and prayers.  But to the children it's just down right an event to sing about.  Most of us have bags of candy waiting for the children to arrive.  Our weather in South Carolina, is much cooler than normal.  I think there will be jackets and gloves to wear with their costumes. 

Just my thoughts for the day.
Carol

How does my garden grow?

Simply by God's grace. Sunday morning picture, from my deck to your computer. God Bless!

Carol

She's back and ready to play.

I am so excited, Carol is back to the human I love.  It's been hard on my pal, John and myself. My job has always been to take care of them. 

Keeping John occupied while Carol made the job change was truly my top priority. Chasing balls, helping him pull weeds, and being in Johns face became a full time job. Carol made the decision to leave her job at Kohl's and start at Home Depot. She gave Kohl's a two week notice, I hear it's the right thing to do, but at the same time Home Depots request that she start computer training so that when she was done at Kohl's she would go on the floor and start her new job.  She thought it would be easy, however, she was overly tired and it really heightened our concern. 

I went into my well thought over plans, mostly as I slept on my platform in her studio,  I need to just love her. No demand for her to play, but letting her know I love her.  One thing I have always been good at is crawling on her lap and making her take a nap. She hates naps.  But I was really successful. 

I am getting used to her schedule, but find both John and Carol so much more relaxed.  Today I went to daycare, it was their gift to me.  I played with 50 dogs and made new friends.  The moral of this story is love is all it takes to make my humans happy.  I am so puppy blessed. 

Yours truly,
Austin

I am blessed.

Yesterday we got a call from my funny relatives.  It took a minute to realize I wasn't talking to a frat party.  It was the annual steak fry, hosted by my brother Gene and his wife Dar.  They had a few drinks before calling us.  As always the joy of laughter entered my heart with all the love of a proud family member.  They missed us enough to call, even though it was hard to hear, and the steaks were delivered to the table.  We are loved, but what they don't know is the love we have for them. 

The only question I have is why are they more interested in John?  It was just major surgery, humm.  I guess it's not all about me.  Oh well, there was enough love to share.  I love my family.  They are and always will be the best thing God gave me. 

As always, God Bless those who travel through my little blog. 

Carol

Life is full of surprises.

One of the things that brings balance to our lives is the growth of plants.  In the South heat and humidity play a huge part in plants growing fast.  Well, along with a sprinkler system and fertilizer.  Ok, that's a big part. 

With a lot of pride we watch our small yard grow.  One area we under estimated the growth was the grape vines.  We were hoping they would reach the top of the pergola by end of summer.  On July 19th they peeked out from the top supports and have been heading for the heavens ever since.

The disturbances in the universe seem to be lessened by gardens ability to change and with Mother Nature unrelenting heat and sun, it lives. With a little help from us. Just as the people that make me smile everyday, it helps me grow and weather the disturbances in my little life.

Feel free to share your little thing that makes you continue to grow.  So for today, that's my thoughts, God Bless and protect those who are suffering today. 

Carol

It takes a lot of strength.

Over the last few months, I have had to make a lot of changes. Not that anyone would notice or changing anything visual. This was all personal.  I'm a very soft hearted person. However, I have learned over the years to protect it, with an outwardly strong appearance. Trying not to be sensitive, or cry in front of my opponent and I have done well.

In one of my posts about a month go I told you about the process of confronting my manager.  I knew this might make it worse, but I had to be true to me.  And yes there was backlash, I allowed myself time to be angry and hurt.  For the first time in my life, I rose above it with a realization that I was better than what I was served.  I again approached it with honor, again one step forward.  I don't like to quit before I know I have done everything to improve my person work life.

Next week is a big week. It will be what makes or breaks my job.  But I am at peace with it. Why, because I have been the better person. What happens is not from my lack of quality work, but a power hungry, self centered manager.  I will stay or leave being the better person. I have always believe that giving your most, and being honorable, is what life is all about. I won't believe I have wasted my time, just placed a bad bet.

Thanks for reading my little blog. 
Carol

Happy Fourth of July America

Thanks to those who fight for us, and their family who support them. God Bless. This photo was taken in Minnesota by a photographer. It was seen in the Tribune Newspaper in Mpls. Thanks for this shot.

Twenty Five Years & Running

I knew the day I said "I do"  it was going to work.  It was a second marriage for both of us.  Not something we were proud of, but nether the less, it was going to be in our past. 

Many things traveled with us.  A new second family for me.  And for John a very large brother and sister contingancy. We felt that both families could take the change.  His family was grown, and mine, well they just loved me and accepted my new life.  We were truly blessed.

I fell for John because he was his own person and hence, he wanted that for me.  I realized that with every breath I took he took one with me.  Life was not always easy, but having him with me made it livable.  Sometimes we looked at each other and wanted more from each other.  However, what we have is love and respect and that's all we need. When I wake up in the morning and nothing has changed, it's a gift. We probably won't make it to our 50th. But if you ask each of us if it's sad, we just smile and say "It's not the quantity it's the quality.  And we have quality.

God Bless all those who travel through my little blog.
Carol

Sheers to you.

We were so excited with the temporary umbrella idea to add shade while Mother Nature takes here time in creating a natural roof over our deck and over the pergola.  Now we had to tackle the sun coming up in the early morning hours.  As we enjoyed a cup of coffee and looked out over our gardens, we realized the sun early in the morning was hot. Yes, we know we're living in the South and hence heat is what the summer is all about. 

I had seen outdoor curtains in the magazines and love them.  However, most were really heavy and would block out all the light. We decided to travel to a few overstock places that sold curtain, pillows and bedding.  To our surprise we could get sheers very affordable.  We purchased two panels, followed by a trip to Lowe's for a PVC pipe, and two clothes rod holders. 

Even though it was overly hot outside we decided to install the sheers.  We understand that we might only get two summers out of the sheers, we could live with this because we also have a Crape Myrtle that would be cover that area in the future.  One other benefit was that it made the deck look so welcoming.

God Bless those who travel through my little journey.
Carol

Wild Flower Photo

I love wild flowers, everyday they change.  Colors, height and they make the yard full of life. 

And now for my job.

After John's surgery, and seeing how well he did, it was time for me to make my move or not.  There's always two ways to take care of any disturbance in the universe.  Retail is no different from any other job. You can face it or run, I liked the job and the people I work with, I was not running. 

I realized one thing, I wasn't going to get my way, I just wanted it to be better.  But I could state my concerns and see if even the smallest request for change was possible.  The hardest part is to stay focused.  I had written a letter, lets say an agenda, sealed it and delivered it to my store manager.  As I waited for his response, I practiced my comments and possible responses.  I was well rehearsed and clear of mind the day I was requested to join him and another management representative. 

With a smile on my face I faced the unknown results.  When the meeting was over, I felt that I had done well, I did stay focused and sure of  myself.  I went back to my department, not winning the fight but standing strong and giving management time to respond. 

That was over a two weeks ago now, and the first part of my request did come true.  Slowly but surely the things that made the day hard went away.  The second part is much larger and will hope for the best on that also.

Time is always on the side of truth and calm will always prevail.  you don't always get your way, but you can feel you came out stronger and wiser.
Carol

May the month of change.

Two huge things went on during the month of May, John went through hip replacement surgery and I had to take a long look in the mirror and face a possible job change. 

I wanted to write about the surgery.  John is so important to my happiness.  We have spent 25 years together and realize we are the best that can happen to either of us.  I didn't want it to change.  I knew John's hip replacement surgery was important to his mobility and freedom to follow his dream, golfing.  In the past years I noticed change in his gate and getting up out of chairs. 

Surgery was also very scary, no matter what my mind knew, my heart was not sure it believed my mind.  We both stayed brave, going into it as though nothing was going to go wrong.  We both knew the reality and made decisions on where important papers were stored.

With prayers said, John went into surgery, forty five minutes later, the doctor came out and said he did well.  For a minute the world stopped and I knew I had just been given a gift from God. It's been three weeks and he is doing great.  We just went to the doctor today he can now take car trips.  However, he can't hang his head out the window.  Can't ask for more.

God Bless
Carol

To my brothers that served.

This picture was in the Minneapolis Tribune.  I don't know who took it but it made me cry.  And I started to think about my brothers that served. Most of them didn't see the fight, however one did. He is a Vietnam vet.  But I know if the others would have had to go to war, they would have been strong.

Why do I know this. Because of their father, my dad.  When you are brought up with a father, that didn't want conflict but stood up when it was needed.  You find that the six boys in the family, do stand up when needed to protect and take care of their family.

I love my brothers, more than anyone knows. I'm proud of what they do and have done.  They are strong, loving and hard working.  When I go to bed at night and when I awake my family is what I thank God for.

God Bless you brothers. 
Carol

Where's the snapping turtle?

I showed you are new addition a week ago, the snapping turtle.  He lives on the hill and has been staring down the big frog across the stream.  As usual my love for...where's waldo, makes it a delight to have many little characters to look for.  But not too many to detract from the beauty of the yard

As always, God Bless those who travel through my little blog.
Carol

It's a new friend

I will post a picture to show you where he is located.  I am loving him. 

Have  a great Monday Ya'll

Carol

Pergola Grill Station

This is a picture day. Thought you would like to see how the backyard grilling platform looks after a pergola is added.  The back yard is done for a while.  Now Mother nature will make it beautiful.  She has a new grapevine to focus on, as well as our vegetable garden and lots of wild flowers. She will be busy in our little back yard.

Happy Saturday everyone and God bless.
Carol

Bet you thought we were done.

It's hard not to keep going on a project that's turning out so beautiful. When I saw the back of the house the first time, I wondered how a builder could make this little peaked roof line.  The inside and front of the house is a designers delight.  But I knew as John did that the back yard was workable.  The back of the house was going to be a little challenging. Was it going to be a screen porch, most people put them in, or maybe extend the deck. Well this is our design choice.  We are not done yet, the last step will be our pergola over the grill platform.  More pictures to come. But for now we are enjoying our accomplishments.

God Bless those who travel along with me on my journey .
Carol

Happy Easter!

A Peep Perk

On my birthday, John gave me two packages of peeps. He knows that it's my Easter favorite.  Unlike chocolate, birdie peeps are my favorite only during Easter. I don't understand peeps for Halloween etc.  But what I saw when I was drooling over the peeps, was the sugar free message.  Really, how can that be, what would they do, what is that yellow sparkly covering over the white wonderful marshmallow?

Turns out it's something I don't understand and my guess is it's bad.  Chemicals, really, I want real sugar if sugar is what I am going to eat.  When I first saw it I thought what is John thinking?  Does he think I should stop my sugar hits regarding peeps.  Well, finally I ask him and he never even noticed the sugar free info.  Love that man.  Never any underlying message from him ever. 

Happy Easter all you peeps.  May you celebrate Easter for what it is, not what goodies you get.
Carol

What a line up

I told you that I love getting greeting cards and yes I make them. Maybe that's why I make them. Did you know that a single card sent to someone can change their day?  That maybe the time you took to send it made a difference.  That picking a card that matched the person is not a waste of time.   When I give a card to a person that is not expecting it and probably has never given a card to anyone, the look on their face is almost a gift to me. 

My birthday cards will stay on the mantel for a month, not that my birthday lasts a month but that everyday I am reminded of people that like me enough to send them.  I am truly blessed. It's not just birthday cards, it's every card we get.  My house is always dressed with card reminders of those who care.

Thanks to those who made my mantel beautiful and my heart full.
Carol

Birthday Thoughts

Birthdays are as different as the individuals that have them.  From lavish parties, surprise parties, and lots of gifts, everyone has different wishes. I'm not sure why they are important because everyone has one. 

For me it's simple.  I love birthday cards, I want them to arrive through the week. On my birthday, I wake up to my world without drama.  I hear Austin stretching and ready for another day, my husband putting a pot of coffee on, and I feeling renewed.  A prayer of thanks crosses my lips.  I don't need much, but what I get are small love gifts from John.  This year it was flowers, peeps, chocolate covered marshmallow eggs, and a cake.  Supper was my choice and I chose pizza at a real pizza place. Veno's was my choice. Be still my heart the pizza was the best ever. 

I don't like people at work knowing it's my birthday, why you ask, because if I have a good day and everyone respects me, it's a great day.  I had a great day at work. What a birthday.

God bless those who travel through my little blog.
Carol

Smiles all around

God Bless all of you and an overcast day.
Carol

And they call it spring.

Carolina Jasmine.  It's year two and already to the top of the trellis.

I thought this would make everyone smile today. The plant is a vine and never losses it's leaves. It makes for great privacy when fully covering the trellis. The flowers are always in spring and the aroma, is beyond  belief.  Happy Spring.

Carol

Holly Mollie Rocky

I spend a lot of time thinking of what has to be done, and in some cases I really don't want to get started. In my case it's the wicker chairs on the porch.  They were never really meant to be outside. But they fit the porch. 

Cleaning them was the worst part of the job.  Brushing, spraying with a power hose and making sure they were dry before painting.  Step one was done and chairs were resting in the guest room waiting for that special day when the weather was right and I was willing. 

My first thought was white paint, but kept thinking a color would be great. But what color would do and how much fun would a color be.   With courage I mentioned it to John, my dear John, and with a sly look said, "I was thinking of color."  He had already checked to see what paint we were going to us, that would work in such a hot sun.  Rustolium was the product.  Wait a minute, we use that on iron not wicker, but when I saw the colors it came in and pictured on the can was wicker, I was at peace. 

After looking at the possible colors, it came down to two, orange or bright green.  As you can see green became the color.  The best part was that while I was away at work, John sprayed one chair.  What do you think, creative or what?

Another day in the Southern Sun. 
Carol

Ash Wednesday thought

Here we are into the third or fourth week of lent and it dawned on me how hard my resolution is. 

On Ash Wednesday, the first day of lent, in the Catholic world, I was listening to our priest tell us about what giving up meant.  He said give up something that is easy to do.  Not giving up candy or eating between meals.  I had to think about that, it probably wasn't new but I heard it for the first time.

He didn't mean like kissing my husband or saying I loved him.  It was worse, I decided to give up fighting back with words or getting mad.  Would you believe that on that same day someone decided to challenge me.  They remarked with harsh words. 

I blinked and thought, what did I say to draw these words. Was I not sensitive to that persons needs.  This started me on a self evaluation journey.  And as I said, it has been hard. It's so easy to say something to someone else in anger or from being hurt. 

I do know that I am learning so much and hope that I can carry it into the future.  Wow, who would think, I could find something so hard to give up and yet so valuable. 

God Bless you all.
Carol

Another step forward to paradise.

Look at our newest accomplishment.  Our vegetable area is ready to grow some really great cucumbers, green beans and peppers.  Last year the weather turned hot really early and our plants didn't have the time to develop.  The end results was not very good produce.  But we have changed the ground, the watering system and the plants sun time.  We are looking forward to the summer.

 Our next project is to add entertaining area.  Check in to see how that looks. As always, God bless you and yours. 

Carol

If I ate only chocolate.

The other day John gave me roses and chocolate for Valentine's Day. As I opened the bag of chocolate and the beauty wrapped candies fell out into the bowl, I started to think of living on chocolate. Now don't get me wrong I don't eat pounds of chocolate, nor am I addicted.  So an intervention will not be needed.

If I would do this, would my skin turn bronze from too much chocolate, like my friend who ate nothing but carrots and her skin turned a strange color of orange. Would I give off a scent of chocolate, like people who eat curry in everything.  Would that be so bad?

Would death by chocolate be a bad ending.  My mind wanders as I eat the soft, smooth, soul soothing little piece of heaven. Heaven, there is another thought. But enough for now, I need to get another piece of chocolate and heat up my cup of tea.

God Bless you chocolate lovers.
Carol

Let's go John

Everyday I go out to see if the sun is out.  My shadow, lately, has been non-existent.  The temperatures cooler and my ambition low.  The other day John and I got to working.  He decided we didn't need the sun or warm weather.  I'm not sure, I'm a southern boy, I need the sun and warmth.

Winter isn't my favorite, I love to lay in the sun and nap.  When will it get hot, I know by my colors of my glossy coat you would think I would be a shade dog.  But not me, southern boys love the sun. 

Well enough for today, nap time the house, watching John work.  Boring.

As always bark to you.
Austin

Boring but needed.

I have to say that I love the results from painting, so everyone thinks I love painting.  The two are not related in my mind.  First of all I am too cheap to pay others, and as I found out, I'm pretty good at it. 

When I paint a room, it usually makes such a transition because I change the attitude of the room.  Because of that reason, I put off painting the kitchen.  This room is a dark room, that meant no powerful colors.  What to do, I needed to make a statement.  Well after a few months I decided a statement was not going to happen. However, a new paint job would make it a new room. 

Lots of work is needed in this room to make it ours, but it would also take a large amount of money, in which we are not ready to let go. So a paint job and dreaming of what could be done makes waiting worth the time.

God Bless those who read about my little blog.
Carol

And the landscaping begins.

It seems like yesterday we put the final stain on the pergola.  But it was a few months ago. In that time John has viewed the backyard in wonder of what he was going to do next. It's like a little boy with Lego's.  The planning for John is everything. I love to see his brain working. He never rushes into anything and that's what makes him so successful. 

He started about two weeks ago with the fire pit. We wanted to add a look of warmth to the gardens that will add a little conversation place other than the pergola. Mind you we probably will never use it. But it sure looks good. This fire was of course for pictures. We are working from left to right in the backyard. Starting from the pond area and will finish with...we really not sure as yet.  But check in throughout the summer and see where we are going. You will know as soon as we do.

As always God Bless all and to my family...I love you.
Carol

Thank You Day

For all my wonderful followers and family.

Where have I been?

Most of my time has been spent recoverating from retail.  And maybe catching up with my designing.  But mostly recouping my true balance in mind and body.   I spent time getting the house back to order, designing and napping. But mostly thanking God for giving me the strength to make it through another holiday retail event. 

I knew I was coming around when I saw these Muppet hats. They were wonderful, I don't know if anyone would ever really wear them, but coming from Minnesota, I thought... what a great joke to send home. After calling John for his thoughts, we went to work making them even more funny.  We took a picture wearing them and ask in reply the recipient do the same and send a picture back wearing those special hats. 

For days the thought of those hats arriving made us smile. We also hoped that they loved them and would get the same happiness even for a day. 

God Bless everyone who travels through this small blog.
Carol

2011 Christmas Memories

I can't believe I ran out of time this year in every direction. Not only sending out cards to those I know and love, but baking and just enjoying the holiday.  Once again John stepped up to the plate and hit a home run.  Coming home to hot dinners, all my Christmas decorations lit, made being overworked and tired acceptable. 

I still felt sad that I didn't get all the cards out I had planned.  So I decided to put out a newsletter to those who we don't keep up with but once a year.  I love getting Christmas cards and proudly displaying them as you would a trophy.  Those who took the time to send them out to us, have a special place in my heart.

I know I will be back to normal next year, why, because I would be sad if I didn't get those wonderful cards in 2012.

God Bless those who travel through my little blog.
Carol