Shades of a Summer Picnic on a Winter's Day

one of the nearby creeks this morning

  

      Wow. It had been nine days since anyone from our household ventured into town.  There is still snow here - especially on the secondary roads where we live.  But the Jeep made the trip just fine.  Actually, I probably wouldn't have made the trip today, but I had to have routine blood work done... So, I waited until 10 AM, hoping for some thawing,  and went to the hospital  lab, then on to the grocery store. It was kind of exciting going into town, seeing other people - including a dear neighbor of ours - finding town quiet but intact.
  

a friend's house, about a mile from ours...

      It was great going to the store and buying the few things we needed and a couple things we merely wanted... I bought cabbage and carrots - plan on making cole slaw this afternoon to go with the chicken I plan on broasting in the dutch oven.  Yummy - shades of a summer picnic on a winter's day.  I also got Moshe some cream so that he can make ice cream.  (I don't usually eat ice cream, but, if he made chocolate  ice cream, I would really, really, really like to taste it!)   Hmmm... maybe I should make some potato salad.  Wouldn't it be FUN to have a picnic?

                   

 ...But NOT on this table!!!

Shalom Y'all - Twyla  

 

Comin' In From the Cold

       Yesterday was a cold, windy day.  The day before was colder but less windy.  Yes, it is cold, and we need to know how to deal with the chill in the air.  But, we also have spiritual winters... when spiritual winter arrives it comes in the form of dark and dreary days.  The trials of a spiritual winter are difficult and many.  We need to know how to winterize our lives.  Otherwise spiritual winter can leave us lonely and discouraged.
     One of the things that can make our winter colder is the bitter air of the world.  When we are going through a spiritual winter, we tend to let down our guard... worldly influences creep in... they seep through the cracks of our lives, around the doors to our hearts.  The cold air of influence may come from worldly friends, from the media, or from within - wrong thinking.  We have to get out the caulk and seal up those holes and cracks. The best way to do this is God's Word. Read it. Memorize it. Apply it to our lives.
     The icicles of a cold heart are a problem in the winter, too.  It's easy to develop a coldness of attitude during our winters.  Talking with The Almighty in earnest prayer can melt even the coldest of hearts.
  

     Frost:  If we are going through trials, depression can easily nip at our toes like frost.  Left unchecked, the frost begins to affect more and more of our lives, becoming unbearable.  Inertia sets in.  And, inertia is deadly. Left  unmoved, frost can become frostbite, and frostbite can result in death.  It is, of course, better to prevent the frost from overtaking us, because once it enters us, it is difficult to relieve. Time spent with God every day will keep us warm, warding off the frost of depression and discouragement.
     And, then there are the blizzards of circumstance.  Blizzards can be devastating; the circumstances of our lives can be overwhelming... illness, financial burdens, relationship difficulties. In the times of blizzard, we must remember that God is in control.  Even in the worst of circumstances, He is right there, ready to guide us to a warmer state of mind.
  

 Before winter enters our lives - or even after - we need to pack Emergency Kits for ourselves and our families:
#1: Extra blankets:  Blanketing ourselves with the fellowship of others creates and maintains warmth in
our  lives. We need love and prayers from others to keep the edge off the winter chill.
#2: Non-perishable food:  Scripture is the perfect food;  the Bible offers milk, meat, or manna - depending on  our needs.  Memorized scripture can help us even in the most desperate of winter storms.
#3:Water - Christ is The Living Water.  Drink of His love and strength.  Relying on Christ will keep us  from a  cold, dry, and  bitter existence.  .
#4: Emergency Light source:  God is our light.  His guidance in our daily lives is essential.  In the cold of
      winter we need His light even more.

     We all have spiritual winters in our lives.  But preparing for them can help prevent them from
becoming disastrous.  So, today, take the time to make sure you are prepared for winter.


       SHALOM   Y'ALL  -  TWYLA

Another Redo



One of my barn paintings, framed in old barn wood...

     Okay.  I like change.  (NOT the Obama kind!!!)  I have always, as long as I can remember, changed the decor in my house.  When I had my big old historic home, I changed the displays in the butler's pantry, all the curio cabinets, and china cabinets - every MONTH!   I was physically stronger then, and saw nothing wrong with moving the furniture almost as often.  My daughter could wake up at noon on a Saturday  and find the entire house redone.  Sometimes I switched entire rooms with each other.  It is always stimulating for me to get my artistic juices flowing and to see what odd items can go together in an eye-pleasing way.  I might take a very valuable antique item and put it in a basket with a dimestore item, then add a scrap of fabric or paper... who knows?
     So, after redoing my blog yesterday, I decided it was high time to redo the living room for winter.  Now that I've lost alot of physical strength,  I mostly change the art and other decorative items.  It doesn't hurt that I do watercolors, and have almost limitless paintings to choose from... I feel energized when it's new and different.

part of the curio cabinet

      The poor living room had recently been neglected.  It still had Autumn colors, paintings of  colorful trees and shadowy scenes,  coiled clay pots filled with wheat and other grains, and my collection of turkey figurines!  It was time for snowflakes, deer, silvery branches, and snow scenes.  Moshe helped me by bringing  in some actual pine branches which I attached to the walls with picture hangers.  The curio cabinet is filled with my Grama's old celluloid reindeer, various snowflakes, crystal bowls, touches of blue glass.
     Moshe is such a dear;  he always appreciates the "new look".
Even when he is outside cutting wood for the fire, if he runs across an interesting branch or stump, he sets it aside, knowing that I might like to create something out of it.  Just yesterday, he saved me a couple of very unique branches... who knows what they will become?  Or, where they will be incorporated into our decor?  He also scavenged a couple of the all-time most-wonderful items recently, and gave them to me for Hanukkah... They both were pieces from a small old barn; one a wonderful door with its hinges still intact; the other the gable end of the barn.  These pieces are solid red oak, and so heavy that they will have to be remade into something for the yard... WAY too heavy to hang on a wall. (Sigh.)
         

my joke deer, sitting on the sled

      The living room has a little alcove where the piano sits. I hung one painting there and a pine bough over it.  On the wall jutting out from the alcove, I propped my old sled, with a stuffed animal deer that I made about twenty-five years ago.  That deer is one of my little jokes with myself... He's a deer, wearing  camouflage and a hunting jacket.  (SICK!  Yes, I am sick!!!)    Wow... Does that bring back memories... Twenty-five years ago, I was a single Mom, raising a young daughter.  I worked more than fulltime, but it was still hard to make ends meet.  I started making floppy-eared bunnies, which was all the rage at the time.  I never made any two exactly alike.  They had precious little embroidered expressions on their faces, frilly dresses, fancy hats, you-name-it.  I got so many orders for them that I paid my little daughter to cut out the pattern pieces for me.  I got special orders for bride bunnies, Atlanta Braves bunnies, nurse, doctor, lawyer, biker, even a nudist bunny!!! One well-loved local dentist was buried holding his dentist bunny that I had made for him - toothbrush and all...  But, I digress. After the bunnies came deer, pigs, cows, dolls.  That little cottage industry helped us make the mortgage payment and knit together our tiny family unit.  One time we received an order from a business - I can't remember exactly, but it was for twenty-some rabbits, maybe even thirty... it was a lot.  After the person left from bringing us the list of orders,  my daughter, Melody,  and I literally jumped up and down for joy.
     And, so... decorating, for me, is more than just putting away some stuff and getting out some other stuff.  It's always a trip down memory lane.  Hope you've enjoyed the stroll with me this morning.

...two of my Winter watercolors, above the sofa...

Shalom Y'all - Twyla