"Wear bright colors, laugh and dance at my funeral."

Whenever my late hubby, Mario, and I would discuss how we wanted our funerals to be, he and I were both in total agreement that we wanted no one to wear dark, somber colors, but bright happy ones instead with happy upbeat music played at the funeral.

Mario said to me several times "I want people to wear bright colors, laugh and dance at my funeral." Never dreaming it would ever be a possibility to 'lose' him, until we were rocking each other's rocking chairs, I would look at him and say "I can agree with the color thing, but I don't know how I could EVER laugh or dance, as losing you would be losing my world," then he'd remind me that what he was saying is the way we all should be, happy for our loved one who would now happy beyond our wildest dreams. All of his wishes were fulfilled the best I possibly could at his funeral ...another of God's gracious blessings (and possibly another post).

I am truly so incredibly happy that he is in Heaven, but a hole was created in me when he left, and yet I am also ever so grateful for all the wonderful, loving years I was blessed with his deep and passionate love for me and our children, his kindness, his thoughtfulness for others, his willingness to help them and his ability to always put others first. He would never even start to eat any meal until I was eating and he would always give me the best portion of anything and have me eat first or usually even serve me first himself. He'd even save his "allowance" (we both had an 'allowance' each month to spend as we wished or to save...most often we saved to spend on each other) for weeks to buy something for me for a special occasion or take me out.

One of Mario's interests was skydiving. Now, we're not talking the ordinary skydiving, but something called HALO which stands for High Altitude, Low Opening. He was even an Airborne instructor for awhile at Ft. Benning, GA. He had his Master Airborne wings as well, all of which helped me to become the great prayer that I am!! He would have loved this patriotic canopy (top of the parachute) and flag.

Although, (or maybe because) Mario had served two tours in Viet Nam, he could not bring himself to ever look at the Viet Nam memorial wall (on a trip to Washington, DC)...even the thought would choke him up. There was a smaller replica of it in Arizona, but he just couldn't bear it (probably because he would see the names of fallen comrades he knew so well). He had two purple hearts as well as medals from 'Nam for lives he had saved under fire. Although it never did happen, the 'good news' is that just a few months before he died he said he thought he was ready to go see it.

He was also fiercely patriotic...maybe not quite as much as me, but a very close second. He did make a career out of the Army and even went through the naturalization process to become an real U. S. citizen, after Ria was born. He had been born in Poland, but raised in Venezuela, so he was a Venezuelan when we got married!! What a blessing it was that we both always dreamed of marrying someone who could speak Spanish like a native and we found each other!

Mario was grateful that America, the U.S., stood for so many good and honorable and God fearing ideals...something we need to pray deeply will return to us in full now!

His favorite symbol was the American Bald Eagle and we had eagles all over the house. For awhile he had a fabulous collection of somewhat expensive eagles, but sad to say, this collection gradually got broken. There are still quite a few other, more durable ones left that I will have to post for you in the near future.

Mario was also a very strong Christian, a true man of God and volunteered repeatedly to help out at any spiritual retreat and at many of our church's ministries. We said prayers together and blessed our children (and each other) every night.

Finally, I leave you with my most recent blessing as tied in with Mario, and that would be my Michael. God knew that I would need to find a man who could respect my sorrow over losing Mario and a man who could hold him in high esteem. Michael has always felt this way and more, never harboring any jealousy for as he has put it, if I could so easily 'get over the loss of Mario', my feelings wouldn't be very deep and I could not love Michael well either!

Some clever and amusing thoughts on being a Christian

Under same management for over 2,000 years.


Soul food served here.


Tithe if you love Jesus! Anyone can honk.


You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.


Beat the Christmas rush, come to church this Sunday!


Don't wait for the hearse to take you to church.


We should be more concerned with the Rock Of Ages, instead of the age of rock.


Don't give up. Moses was once a basket case!


Come early for a good seat in the back.


Life has many choices, Eternity has two. What's yours?


The best vitamin for a Christian is B1.


Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due.


A man's character is like a fence. It cannot be strengthened by whitewash.






Mario loved a good laugh, so please enjoy these for him:

Help from God

A woman named Edna finds herself in dire trouble. Her business has gone bust and she's in serious financial trouble. She's so desperate that she decides to ask God for help. She begins to pray...' God, please help me. I've lost my business and if I don't get some money, I'm going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the lotto.'
Lotto night comes and somebody else wins it.
Edna again prays.... 'God, please let me win the lotto! I've lost my business, my house and I'm going to lose my car as well.'
Lotto night comes and Edna still has no luck.
Once again, she prays, 'My God, why have you forsaken me?? I've lost my business, my house, and my car. My children are starving. I don't often ask you for help and I have always been a good servant to you. PLEASE, just let me win the lotto this one time so I can get my life back in order.
Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open and Edna is confronted by the voice of God Himself:
'Edna, meet Me halfway on this. Buy a ticket.'

Adam Revealed

Four-year-old Robert opened the big bible which had been in his family for years. Absolutely fascinated, he flicked through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the bible. Robert picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old dry leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
'Mum, look what I've found', the boy called out.' What have you got there, dear?' With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think I've found Adam's underwear!'

Amish Humour:
Sign behind an Amish carriage: Energy efficient vehicle. Runs on grass and oats. Extreme caution: Avoid exhaust.

Poor Sick Boy
Marty, a little boy, was in church one Sunday with his mother Doris, when he started feeling sick.
'Mummy,' he inquired, 'can we leave now?' 'No,' his mother replied, 'the service isn't over yet.'.
'Well, I think I'm about to throw up.' Marty announced. 'Then go out of the front door and around to the back of the church and throw up behind a bush.' said Doris.
After about sixty seconds, Marty returned to his pew, alongside his mother.
'Did you throw up?' Marty's Mum asked quietly. 'Yes,' Marty answered, embarrassed.
'How could you have gone all the way to the back of the church and returned so quickly?' Doris demanded.
'I didn't have to go out of the church, Mummy. They have a box next to the front door that says, "For the Sick" '.

Today's Hymn
Reverend Clive Morgan was completing his homily in St John's Church about the dangers of alcohol and the need for moderation and temperance.

He announced at the end of the sermon in a loud, clear voice, 'If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river.' With even greater emphasis he added, 'And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river.' Finally, he intoned in an extremely serious manner, 'And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and throw it into the river.'
The Reverend Morgan then sat down. Jerry, St John's leading chorister stood up and announced with a smile, 'For our closing hymn this Sunday, let us sing together hymn number 109: 'Shall We Gather at the River.'




~~~Most gracious God and Father of us all, I thank you for the blessings of wonderful memories and children with a wonderful man, Mario and future blessings with another wonderful man, Michael.

Just for Sweet Brande

Even her name has an unusual spelling and today is this special person's birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR BRANDE!!!

She doesn't know about this because I have purposely avoided posting any pictures of these flowers. They are special to her because she chose them for her wedding and to give to each of the mothers (me, being one) of the couple. I wanted to surprise her when they came to visit from Arizona, but it won't happen this year...sniff...sniff..., but here are the calla lilies, or just one lily in this picture.

There is a photo of before it opened up and then a photo taken from the top. It actually bloomed after this with TWO flowers that were pink! But, puke, I can't find them for the love of me...I searched through the pictures I downloaded and can't find them. If I had more time, I could have put some fake plastic ones in there, but I was sure that I'd find them, dagnabbit (pretty colorful language, huh?)
Hopefully my sweet daughter-in-law will not 'have a cow' when she sees this picture that I posted of her last year at the Georgia Aquarium with cute Myla Smyla, but it is SO her. she is such a GREAT mother...she get down and plays with her children and gets messy with them and oohs and aahhs at all the right times!


Here are all four of them. For this vacation trip my son Mario, a very loving father, and his son Corbyn got matching Mohawks. But see how Brande is always being such an 'on hands' mom, explaining and caring and giving massive doses of love???

I call Myla the Smyla, but you can see she gets it from mommy!! You would be hard put to find a time when Brande isn't all smiles and sweetness. She laughs easily and with gusto!! Her laugh is infectious and always make me laugh.

One of my strongest prayers when she and my son got married was that they would be able to have children. Brande is loving with all babies and children, a real born mommy, so I was thrilled beyond words when she got pregnant with Corbyn a few years after they were married.

I know my loving late husband would have liked it this way, but this is the day to celebrate both a wonderful young woman and to honor the passing of a wonderful husband, so I will do the post for Mario on Sunday, so that this day can be just a birthday celebration.

And a joke for Brande's day:

It was the teacher's birthday and all the little children in kindergarten had brought her presents.

Little Myla's mommy worked with designing chocolates, so when the teacher shook her the birthday box from Myla, she asked "Could this be chocolates"? Myla smiled her big smile and said "Yes".

Then came the gift box from Corbyn who proudly brought his up with a little shy smile. Knowing that Corbyn's daddy worked designing lego sets, she shook his and guessed again correctly and Corbyn beamed.

Now came little Brande with a big beautiful box that wiggled. Knowing that Brande's mommy worked in a fun toy store and her daddy sold exotic liqueurs, she shook it and guessed "Is it a battery operated toy that wiggles?" Brande grinned her winning grin and said "Nope". The teacher noticed the box began to leak and feared she had broken some liqueur, so she licked the dripping spot and asked little Brande "Is this some wonderfully exotic liqueur?" Brande just giggled and giggled. Finally, the teacher said "Okay, I give up. What did you bring me"? Brande happily told her, "A brand new puppy!!"

~~~For the blessings of loving people who become our family by means other than birth, I thank You, Heavenly Father.

What came from Deutschland (favorites)??

Even as I'm writing this, I'm thinking "that sounds a little wacko" because I was about to write that I really do not collect things, other than nativity sets and here I am going to show you things I have collected...

Here is a beautiful Hummel Madonna that both my mom and I bought when we were in Germany (she came for a one month visit). Wish I could remember what happened to hers??!!

Now here is a beautiful Wedgwood piece (which is a British, not a German item but it was bought in Germany). It is a beautiful plate of Pope John II that I couldn't resist. Amazingly I got a farewell gift of a Wedgwood egg that matches!

Now here is that Hummel I told you about yesterday, with the little sister teaching the even littler brother, to pray.





















Had to take two pictures, so you could get the full benefit of this cute piece.

One of the things we found that were very popular and easy to find were the many plates that are made depicting the German towns. This is one of the 'Rathaus' in Bamberg, where we lived. It is the courthouse and it did look like this, water and all.

This is a plate from Berchtesgaden ( in Bavaria which is southern Germany). This is such a gorgeous area of Germany...it looks like a story book come to life, a lot like Wanda's incredible Blog site. In the little town and the shops that wee there, you could see 'real live' Germans in lederhosen!!

Here's some cute quotes I found on the Internet:

If an article is attractive, or useful, or inexpensive, they'll stop making it tomorrow; if it's all three, they stopped making it yesterday. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch it to be sure. ~Murphy's Law

If there is something you must do and you cannot do it, you cannot do anything else. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

How is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person? ~François Duc de La Rochefoucauld

The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one. ~Erma Bombeck

I tell you this, and I tell you plain: What you have done, you will do again; You will bite your tongue, careful or not, Upon the already-bitten spot.~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold. ~Author Unknown

A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist. ~Franklin P. Jones

It's always been and always will be the same in the world: The horse does the work and the coachman is tipped. ~Author Unknown

An unwatched pot boils immediately. ~H.F. Ellis

If you wonder where your child left his roller skates, try walking around the house in the dark. ~Leopold Fechtner

Now for a couple of "German" jokes:

The German girl knelt in the confessional and said, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.""What is it, child?"

The girl said, "Father, I have committed the sin of vanity. Twice a day I gaze at myself in the mirror and tell myself how beautiful I am."

The priest turned, took a good look at the girl, and said, "My dear, I have good news. That isn't a sin - it's only a mistake."

***************

Three men are traveling in the Amazon, a German, an American, and a Mexican, and they get captured by some Amazons. The head of the tribe says to the German, "What do you want on your back for your whipping?"

The German responds, "I will take oil!" So they put oil on his back, and a large Amazon whips him ten times. When he is finished the German has these huge welts on his back, and he can hardly move.

The Amazons haul the German away, and say to the Mexican, "What do you want on your back?" "I will take nothing!" says the Mexican, and he stands there straight and takes his ten lashings without a single flinch.

"What will you take on your back?" the Amazons ask the American. He responds, "I'll take the Mexican."

~~~For the blessings of all the little trinkets we collect that bring us fond memories, I thank You , Lord.

I remembered to pray for you

One of the many awesome things about praying is that there are so many ways to do it. Maybe we could understand it better if we called it "talking to God". That way we wouldn't feel guilty if we fail to say memorized prayer or get down on our knees or join with a group of others...these are all terrific ways to pray and they should all be a part of my life and I try to make use of all of them.

Even reading the Bible is praying when done reverently and to become a better person (sometimes you've got to look deeply, especially when you're reading the 'smiting' parts or begetting parts...if nothing else to learn that God's world shouldn't and doesn't have to be a world of conflict). I need to be a spreader of sunshine/Sonshine and love, bringing smiles and reflections...that's been one of my prayers since I was a little girl.

My sweet mom was so pleased when a neighbor lady told her that "if Marcy had one solitary peanut, she'd share it." But, by the same token there was some naughtiness in there too (can I blame this on my Irish half and my red hair?) So, if I'm sharing a good instance, let me share an opposite. My mother also told me that one day I got in trouble for something (imagine that!) and she was scolding me, then she glanced away for a second, during which I apparently (we have no pictures here) stuck out my tongue. She got a little perturbed (translation: some steam was coming out of the top of her head) and asked me "Did you just stick your tongue out at ME???!!" To which my panic stricken (feelings of imminent smiting here) little self said "No, mommy, I was just licking the egg off my face." This MIGHT have worked a little tiny bit except for the fact that we hadn't had any eggs at all.

One of my sweet memories is when I was teaching my children to pray...there's just nothing sweeter than hearing an innocent little child praying to God. In fact, his older sisters, Ria and Laura, even helped my son Mario say his prayers and that is the reason I bought a little Hummel figurine when we lived in Germany of a little girl showing her brother how to pray.

One of the delights on my Christian journey has been to learn new ways to pray, such as meditation or opened handed prayer, things I had never tried and I love each way because theu all bring good feelings and peace. Once I learned that prayer is or should be thanksgiving, I always try to start with thanks to God. Incredibly, when Michael started praying (and still does) he immediately did all of the thanksgiving prayers and no one had ever told him about this method. That was and is a blessed moment for me.

Now...as for the title of this post, I often hear people say we should get together or come over some time and then find out it's only a pleasantry. For me, it is fact if I say it, so I DID especially pray for all of you last night at our healing Mass...some who I knew were in need financially, spiritually or physically, I tried to pray for by name, but then I covered everyone by asking Him to bless and take care of the needs of all my blogging friends. Michael and I both went up to be anointed and I prayed for the healing of all the many others that went up as well. I guess I wanted all of you to know that I do truly remember you in my daily prayers as well as on special occasions like yesterday evening. You have really blessed me and given me God's Presence in your posts and treasured comments...thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

Now, for a smile or two for you:

A Sunday School teacher asked her pupils, "Now, children, do you all say your prayers at night?" Little Johnny's hand shot up, "Yes Miss, My Mommy says my prayers." "Oh, I see," said the teacher, "and what does your Mother say?" "THANK GOD HE'S IN BED!" says little johnny.

`````````

This was from the early 70's, when somebody wanted to sell a sewing machine in the classified ads:

Monday

FOR SALE R. D. Jones has one sewing machine for sale. Phone 958-0707 after 7 p.m. and ask for Mrs.Kelly who lives with him cheap.

Tuesday

NOTICE We regret having erred in R. D. Jones’ad yesterday. It should have read: One sewing machine for sale. Cheap. Phone 948-0707 and ask for Mrs. Kelly who lives with him after 7 p.m.

Wednesday

R. D. Jones has informed us that he has received several annoying telephone calls because of the error we made in his classified ad yesterday. His ad stands correct as follows: FOR SALE - R. D. Jones has one sewing machine for sale. Cheap. Phone 948-0707 after 7 p.m. and ask for Mrs. Kelly who loves with him.

Thursday

NOTICE I, R. D. Jones, have no sewing machine for sale. I SMASHED IT. Don’t call 948-0707, as the telephone has been taken out. I have not been carrying on with Mrs. Kelly. Until yesterday she was my housekeeper, but she quit.

````````

A minister dies and is waiting in line at the pearly gates. Ahead of him is a guy dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, a leather jacket, and jeans. St. Peter addresses this guy, "Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the kingdom of heaven?"The guy replies, "I am Joe Choen, taxi driver, of Las Vegas."St. Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the taxi driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the kingdom of heaven." The taxi driver goes into heaven with his robe and staff, and it is the minister's turn.He stands erect and booms out, "I am Joseph Snow, pastor of St. Mary's for the last forty-five years."St. Peter consults his list. He says to the minister, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the kingdom of heaven.""Just a minute," says the minister. "That man was a taxi driver and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?""Up here, we work by results," says St. Peter. "While you preached, people slept; while he drove, people prayed."

They have Dial-a-Prayer for atheists now.
You call up and it rings and rings but nobody answers.

~~~Thank You, Lord for the blessing of praying for others and thanking You.

Let's peek in on Marcy and Michael's garden

Hmmm...this doesn't look their garden, but...look , it's eggplant and we all thought these guys only came from hens!

Hmmm...this only looks like Marcy's wishful thinking garden (take deep breaths now Michael, don't pass out...this is NOT next year's plan...but don't rule out the year after that completely).

Now we're cooking...this is definitely a garden and a half and Michael and Kelly both just love corn. What do you think Mikemal (a pet name for him that my grandson Corbyn gave him and we both love )?? We could borrow Mimi's monster tiller again??

With just a little, tiny bit of extra tilling this could be ours, all ours!!

For those of you who have limited space, here is the garden for you:

I just loved these raised boxes, so beautiful, but Mikemal didn't jump up and say YAH Hoo, so I sense hesitation on his part...

Okay, finally the real garden, from pictures taken yesterday. Now before you look or try to click on these pictures, I probably need to have a coaching moment here. The 'proper' comment is "oooooh....aaahhh and look how huge everything has gotten"...this is one time I am allowing one and all to lie freely. You can also say "wow...how do you do it?" Or "holy moly, what a garden!"

These kind of comments are guaranteed to get the blood pumping and have me out there weeding in no time (they might even work for Mikemal, if you REALLY get 'gushy").

This is my transplanted, from seed, orange poppy flower, surrounded by four baby red poppies from seed. For sure Eileen should love this pot as it is losing its' paint, a bit like me.

What do we have here...could it be a little green bell pepper?

Here's one of Michael's favorites, but we planted it too late and I am still hoping something will happen with this broccoli..anyone see any florets here (psst...it's okay to lie/fib now too)?

Now what is this beside the marigold?...yah hoo..it's a free dill growing from last year!

Now here is a delightful addition to our back yard, our fake owl designed to put fear into the bravest bird heart and stop them from methodically eating the big berries off of one of our new little blueberry bushes. Just a couple of days ago, Michael wanted to show me these big berries on this little bush and discovered that only one was left, so out came the fierce owl(where he had been 'hibernating ' in the garage). Now here comes the sad part of the story, our mean looking owl didn't scare anything, certainly not the berry eating bird(s) as the last one on that bush disappeared after the owl made his appearance. Michael thinks he needs to be mechanized...any suggestions here?

Here are some of the red poppies that I grew from seed and some of which I planted next to the orange poppy.

Last, but not least for today's foray into garden land, is the strawberry patch. We had thought of using said owl or his kin for this area as those inconsiderate birds are eating my strawberries too. the worst part is that they just take chunks out of one and leave it, then go for a different one...why can't they finish what they started, for pete's sake??!! At least I can usually find one or two intact each morning.

Here's something I got from the Internet:

"You Know you’re A Master Gardener When:
You rejoice in rain...even after 10 straight days of it.

(I do love the rain and am now thinking of doing a rain dance to get some more of it .)
You have pride in how bad your hands look.

(Wow, I have shown off these beauties to a few people...truth be told my right hand did get swollen from weed picking and my thumb nail has some hidden crevice where I can't get that little bit of dirt out no matter how many dishes or showers I take.)
You have a decorative compost container on your kitchen counter.

(This does sound like a good idea as right now I am using a cut off milk carton.)
You can give away plants easily, but compost is another thing.

(So new at 'real' composting that I never gave this a thought except it's messy enough for us, so giving it could be a challenge and not giving it might even be a blessing for the non recipient.)
Soil test results actually mean something.

(Another thing to try out, like a new toy??)
IPM rules!

(Lost me here, but I CAN look it up.)
You’d rather go to a nursery to shop than a clothes store.

(How can one pass by the flowers and veggies anywhere?)
You look for gardens open to the public whenever you go on vacation.

(Is this why I've always been drawn to the botanical gardens anywhere?)
Your non-gardening spouse is actually getting involved with your garden endeavors...digging ponds, building bird houses, watering, pruning, turning compost piles, planting...

(UH oh...this metamorphosis has taken place...)
And you definitely know your a Master Gardener when...
You are surrounded by terrific people who share your passion!

Now for a couple of cute jokes:

"An Amish boy and his father were visiting a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and back together again. The boy asked his father, "What is this, Father?" The father responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don't know what it is."

While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed an old lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched small circles of lights w/numbers above the walls light up. They continued to watch the circles light up in the reverse direction. The walls opened up again and a beautiful 24 year old woman stepped out.

The father said to his son, "Go get your Mother."

~~~~~

An Amishman lived on a quiet, rural highway. But, as time went by, the traffic slowly built up at an alarming rate. It became so heavy and so fast that his chickens were being run over at a rate of three to six a day. So he called the sheriff's office and said, "You've got to do something about all of these tourists driving so fast and killing all of my chickens."

"What do you want me to do?" asked the sheriff.

"I don't care, just do something about these drivers."

So the next day the sheriff had the county go out and put up a sign that said: SLOW: SCHOOL CROSSING. Three days later, the Amishman again called the sheriff and said, "That sign didn't help a bit. They are still hitting my chickens."

So the next day, the county put up a sign that said: SLOW: CHILDREN AT PLAY.

Again, no change. So the Amishman called and called, every day for three weeks. Finally, he told the sheriff, "Look, your signs are just not working. Mind if I put up one of my own?"

The sheriff told him, "Sure thing, let's see if yours works better."

He was willing to agree to anything to get him to stop those daily calls. Well, the sheriff got no more calls from the Amishman. After three weeks, he decided to call the Amishman and see how things were going. "

Did you put up your sign?"

"Oh, I sure did. And not one chicken has been killed since. I've got to go. I'm very busy." And he hung up the phone.

The sheriff thought to himself, "I'd better go have a look at that sign. There might be something there that WE could use to slow down drivers..."

So the sheriff drove out to the Amishman's house, and he saw the sign. It was on a whole sheet of plywood. Written in large, yellow letters were the words: SLOW: NUDIST COLONY.

~~~Thank you dear Lord for the blessings to be found in the buds and fruits of your earth.

My little "surprise present from God"

As I've shared before, somehow, someway, I got this gardening gene (both my parents were 'geneless' here) and I've always loved to grow things and watch them as they progressed. My grandmothers always kept this love, even though they had to scale it down as they got older, one having lived on a farm and the other having a big garden in the country.

After Mario and I came back to the lower forty-eight, from Alaska, and rented our first home, I went out and bought tomato plants that were teeny tiny and nurtured them. I asked Mario to please go water them one day and he came back sheepishly and said that something went wrong. He had never had plants before and so he turned the hose on jet spray and flattened out every one of them like he was on one of his Army field missions, even uprooting a couple. Some brave, extra hardy ones managed to hang in there and we had plenty of tomatoes in the end.

I have a very hard time thinning out plants, too, hence my carrots are way too close together and I "thin" the tomatoes by trying to plant the ones that I take/thin out (crazy me...I try to save everything and everybody).

So, God is very aware of my love for His creation and it seems that He had a special present for me this year. So, one day recently, when my step/heart daughter Kelly asked me if I had planted anything in the back, near the woods, I said, "Nothing other than the watermelon and dill and one tomato plant in the area your dad dug up to transplant the thorn less black raspberries that are going nuts in the front"...this is called a run on and on and on sentence, btw.

So I went back to check it out and this is what I found, to my delight:

I thought about taking pictures after weeding around them, but then this is the way my gift came and I first saw it in its glory:

Since I can't write God a 'thank you letter', so I just said extra thank-filled prayers at Mass last night.

I actually consider this tomato plant a gift too, it came back from seed that fell last year...have some dill like that as well as a few other tomatoes. These little freebies get me all excited too...am I easily entertained ?

In this view of the garden, if this picture will enlarge or you have a magnifying glass, and look to the far back and slightly to the left, you can see my beautiful white daisy 'gift'. The veggies and all are now even bigger in the garden and that path where you see the stool and the weeds, sorely needs to be cleared. Michael, who is no friend of weed pulling, said that he thought they looked fine and even cute (he used cute to try to win me over) and that we should just leave them there!! I had to break it to him that they will propagate worse than rabbits and sneak back in amidst all the veggies and marigolds. Do you remember that I always plant marigolds between my tomatoes because they keep away the nematodes (root eating stinkers...er...bugs)?? Plus, they look so pretty too.

By the way, the famous Pyola is doing its thing and the bugs are staying away!

Now, normally, even I don't do this, but this weed you see here had such pretty little purple flowers that I couldn't pull it, although I did pull the non flowering ones just like it!

Some fun facts:

Did you know that Wood Frogs freeze during the winter and thaw again in the spring to begin breeding.

(Actually Michael pretty much freezes me out during the winter, so I can empathize a bit here. He said that when he lived in Colorado and it was snowing, he still had the window fan going full speed at night!!!)

Many species of butterflies fly south for the winter, just like birds do. Monarch butterflies spend their winters in Mexico where they live in communes.

(Lucky dogs...wonder if being called dogs is an insult to the dogs or the butterflies?...sounds like a fun time.)

Many garden Insects (such as ladybugs), hide in a nice warm bed of mulch and around the roots of trees, grass & shrubs until the weather gets better.

(Now, THIS is what I probably need to do in the winter time around here...move over ladybugs, got any room for me?!!)

A few chuckles for Tickled on Tuesday:

"Gardening is a way of showing that you believe in tomorrow."

"Compost, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste"

"A slug is just a snail with a housing problem !"

I enjoy watching people eat fruit. In fact, I sometimes give it away when people visit (oranges especially). I never thought of the legal ramifications of my generosity until recently though, when a lawyer friend visited me.
"You shouldn't give this away so easily" he said. "It's possible a stranger would visit you and partake of your generosity, then later sue you for damages."
"What do you suggest I do?" I asked, quite concerned about the possibility of facing a lawsuit.
"I'd recommend you precede your fruit giving by the following statement" he said, before inhaling a large breath and beginning his discourse.
"Know all men by these presents that I hereby give, grant, bargain, sell, release, convey, transfer, and quitclaim all my right, title, interest, benefit, and use whatever in, of and concerning this chattel, otherwise known as an orange or citrus orantium, together with all the appurtenances thereto of skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, and juice, to have and to hold the said orange together with its skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, and juice for his own use and behoof, to himself and his heirs in fee simple forever, free from a liens, encumbrances, easements, limitations, restraints, or conditions whatsoever, any and all prior deeds, transfers or other documents whatsoever, not or anywhere made to the contrary notwithstanding, with full power to bite, cut, suck, or otherwise eat the said orange or give away the same, with or without its skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds or juice.'

A friend, who is not a good cook, recently told me, "I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and think, 'Well, that's not going to happen!'"

The man passed out in a dead faint as he came out of his front door onto the porch. Someone called 911. When the paramedics arrived, they helped him regain consciousness and asked if he knew what caused him to faint. "It was enough to make anybody faint," he said. "My son asked me for the keys to the garage, and instead of driving the car out, he came out with the lawn mower."

A man is walking down a country road when he spots a farmer standing in the middle of a huge field of grass, doing absolutely nothing. The man, curious to find out what's happening, walks all the way out to the farmer and asks him, "Excuse me farmer, could you tell me what you are you doing?"
"I'm trying to win a Nobel Prize," the farmer replies.
"A Nobel Prize?" asks the man, puzzled. "How?"
"Well, I heard they give the Nobel Prize to people who are out standing in their field."

Mr. Smith was terribly overweight, so his doctor placed him on a strict diet.
"I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. The next time I see you, you'll have lost at least 5 pounds," his doctor promised.
When Mr. Smith returned he shocked the doctor by having lost nearly 20 pounds.
"Why, that's amazing!" the doctor said, "Did you follow my instructions?"
Mr. Smith nodded. "I'll tell you though, I thought I was going to drop dead that 3rd day."
"Why, from hunger?" asked the doctor.
"No, from skipping."

~~~~Heavenly Father, for the many blessings and gifts all around that we sometimes still fail to see, I thank You.

Short and Sweet

Yesterday's post was entirely too long...didn't realize that as I had been adding a little here and there, then rushing like a crazed maniac to finish the green comment part before going to church. Hope no one dozed off half way through it (checking back in the post, I almost did)!

So here are some short and sweet things, like Oliver as a kitten, in the kitchen looking up while the camera strap dangles down.

This sign pretty much says it all:










These flowers are short and sweet:

For some reason this picture popped up when I wrote short and sweet, so I guess charming or being charming is short or sweet or both:

To give you a complete break from yesterday's "yawner", even the jokes will be short and sweet (aka corny):

Know why a room full of married people looks so empty? There's not a Single person in it...


Don't spend $2 to dry-clean a shirt. Donate it to the Salvation Army instead. They'll clean it and put it on a hanger. Next morning buy it back for 75 cents.


Q: What did the fish say when he hit the wall? Answer: DAM!!


Why do Eskimos wash their clothes in Tide? Because it's too cold "out tide!"


What do you call a boom-a-rang, that doesn't come back? Answer: A Stick!!!!


Why did the stoplight turn red?

Wouldn't you if you had to change in the middle of the street??



P. S. Tomorrow I will finally share "my little surprise present from God" that I found about four days ago.

~~~Thank you, Lord for the ability to make a point without making a yawn.