Friday's Fave Five #99

Welcome to this week's Friday's Fave Five, a blog party that celebrates the highlights in our week.

1.  Last Saturday, we got together with some of my cousins who were visiting from Florida and traveled to my uncle's house for a visit.  Later, we visited the family graves in the area.  It's become a sort of tradition to do this when my cousins are home since we all are interested in genealogy and family history. We always pepper my uncle, the last living one of his generation, with questions about the family.  He says that he was the baby of the family and didn't know a lot of the things we want to know.  Why didn't we pay attention to family history when our fathers and grandparents were alive?  They were always telling stories of the old days but we neglected to listen!

Now, of course, when any relative wants to share a story, I'm ready to listen and take notes!

2.  I love pictures of beautiful flowers and landscapes.  However, I have not been blessed with a green thumb, nor has my husband.  He mows and trims the yard excellently, so it can always be said of our home that we have a beautiful lawn. However, we have no landscaping. I usually put some flowers in containers on our front porch and sometimes I even manage to kill them!  So, it is definitely a highlight of my week when my two flower bushes that we planted bloomed!

Here's my first hibiscus!

But ... the blooms only seem to last a short time.

This is not a very good picture but this is my hydrangea bush.  The first year we had this bush was disappointing because it only yielded three flowers and they were on the back side of the bush.  We were the only ones that could see them!  The second year we saw about 7 or 8 blooms.  This year, the bush exploded with blooms all around the bush. (I didn't really get a good shot of how many blooms we have.) Since I have so many flowers, I'm going to pick some for a bouquet and put them in my vintage aqua canning jar that I found at a yard sale. I'll share a picture later.

3.  All this week my daughters and my husband have been repainting and rearranging the girls' room. It has been chaos with all their belongings scattered throughout the house. How wonderful it is when the job is done and everything has been put back in place! We are all very happy with the new look of the room.

4.  Anticipation! Tomorrow we are leaving for Florida to visit my mom, brother and sister and their families. I'm excited because the next few days will be days that I have no responsibilities!

5. Quote of the week:  "I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe that loving is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles." ~ Audrey Hepburn

Her quote fits in well with something I've always told my girls:  "There's always time for lipstick!"

Have a great weekend, and visit my friend, Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to read other great Friday's Faves!

Friday's Fave Five #98

You're kidding!  Friday again?

I can't believe how quickly the week has flown by me.  It's time to reflect and find five highlights about my week that brought me joy.

1.  Last Saturday was another packed-to-the-brim day.  I started out with hitting a few yard sales.  Unfortunately, I did not find much.  Yard sales are like treausre hunts, sometimes you find really cool stuff, other times, not so much.

Then on to the church for music practice, then work on the bulletin.

Back home to pick up my hubby and then:  ROAD TRIP!  (Sounds a lot like last week, doesn't it?)

This time, we headed to a little lake about 50 minutes away from our house, Cedar Lake:

Here it looks so inviting - it was HOT that day!

Here's a good shot as the sun was beginning to start its descent into dusk.

2. Before going home, we went to the nearest Home Depot to pick up supplies for our newest project, repainting the girls bedroom, and painting their bedframes.  While I was there, I had to pick up some of my beloved Rustoleum Heirloom White and Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paints. I love planning new projects! Executing the plan is another story...

3.  Last week, I talked about finding some Fire King dishes like my grandmother's.  Karyn from Musings from me asked me to send her a picture because they sounded like HER grandmother's dishes.  Sure enough, our dishes are the same.  It's kind of neat to know that some things are the same even though we live many miles apart and are from different countries. Here's a photo of a simple tablescape using the dishes.  Everything in the picture is from yards sales except the silverware and glasses ...and the furniture. I just adore dishes!

4.  The rest of the week went by quickly.  I accomplished quite a bit at work this week which always gives me a good feeling.  I also had several conversations that were spiritually uplifting.  Don't you love when the Lord has some of His children speak to you and tell you just what you needed to hear? It's great to know that you are not alone and that God is working in all our lives.

5. Quote of the week:  "I may not have the answers, but I do have Him." Dave Dravecky

If you'd like to share about your week, link up with Susanne's Living to Tell the Story. You'll love participating in Friday's Fave Five!

Friday's Fave Five #97

Blogging is like having an online journal. One of the reasons I blog is to journal my life for my family and friends, and hopefully, one day, my grandchildren.  I love participating in Friday's Fave Five because we are focusing on the positive aspects of our lives.  Some weeks finding the positive is super easy, other weeks?  Not so much.  Even in the worst of weeks, there is some nugget of hope.  You just have to mine it out!


1.  Last Saturday was a very busy day.  I started out the day yard-saling with my daughters. The yard sales were not that great this week.  My favorite find was three Fire King plates that were a translucent gold with a wheat pattern around the rim.  My granny used to have plates like these.  Now I have treasure to search for - more Fire King plates!


2.  Then it was on to the church for worship team practice and then a few hours of work in the office. This was board meeting week so my office time included financial reports.  Blech!  However, the day ended with a road trip!  I always love those ...  My hubby and I decided to drive to Crab Orchard Lake.  When I was a child, I can remember my dad taking me there.  We got there about dusk and got a couple shots of the lake:

I always love photos of the sun hitting the water.

I also love to take shots through the trees.

Crab Orchard is also a wildlife refuge.  Here at the park is an outdoor theater.

Put a man behind a pulpit and he will always have something to say ...

The refuge also has a nature trail that takes about an hour to walk.  Here is my hubby starting down the trail.  We didn't finish, though, because we didn't bring the right shoes to walk in the woods, and more importantly, we had no insect repellant!  It was also beginning to be dark.  We plan on going back sometime and walking the whole trail.


3.  The next day, Sunday, was a sad day.  My Uncle Sam had passed away and the visitation (or wake) was held for him that evening.  On Monday, the funeral was held at our home church. It's hard to find anything positive in the death of a relative except the solace of knowing he had made things right with the Lord and that his physical suffering is over.  Also, the presence of friends and family mean so much. It's sad to say that times like these are the only times that distant relatives seem to connect.  We're all too busy to visit unless death steps in and rearranges our calendars.


4.  Wednesday was another day that took a little digging to find the positive.  One of our little chicks left the nest.  Our middle daughter, Janae, decided that she was ready to live away from the family home. She and a girlfriend are now sharing an apartment.  My one positive point I found in this is that she does not live far away - only 20 miles. When I moved away from home, I moved 1000 miles away.  What was I thinking???


The rest of the week was filled with meetings and the usual stuff of life.


5. Quote of the week:  "A compliment is verbal sunshine." Robert Orben 


Go spread some sunshine!


If you'd like to share your week, link up at Susanne's Living to Tell the Story. 

Friday's Fave Five #96

Wow! This week has whizzed by ...

1. On Sunday, we celebrated Independence Day, which is always one of my favorite holidays.  At my church, we had a church dinner followed by a special program honoring our country.  One thought was expressed that stuck in my mind.  56 men signed the Declaration of Indepence. 56 men, in essence, changed the world, because today's world would not look the same without America.

Of course, what is the 4th of July without fireworks?

2. Since the 4th fell on a Sunday, I didn't have to go to work on Monday.  A day off is always a favorite! For Father's Day, my husband received a GPS, so we decided to try it out. We set the GPS for a little known park, Mermet Conservation Area, and got out on the road.  It was fun to hear the "man" (we haven't named him yet) tell us "in 600 yards, turn right."  Amazingly enough, he was right every time.  We ended up at our destination, which I shall christen,

"Lilypad Lake"

Here's my attempt at a closeup of a lilypad. 

Lilypads as far as you can see. The air was fragrant!

The sky was gorgeous and there was a light breeze.

It was so beautiful and we had the park to ourselves!

Not one other soul was there.  We sat on the picnic table under some trees and just had a good time of uninterrupted conversation!

3.  Thursday was my husband's birthday. I am so thankful to have him for another year! He is such a blessing to me.

4.  Quote of the week: "When God allows us to undergo stress in our life, it is not to kill us, but to help us see our own human weaknesses--and turn to Him."  Something to think about ...

5.  We had our first watermelon of the season.  It was sweet AND seedless. Yum! 

Link up at Susanne's Living to Tell the Story and share your week!

Friday's Fave Five #95

It's time to participate in one of my favorite memes, Friday's 5 Fave, hosted by the lovely Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

The goal of Friday's Fave 5 is to reflect on the five highlights from the past week, essentially focusing on the positive.  Some weeks are full of highlights.  Others?  Not so much ...  Yet, highlights can always be found.  My week was pretty average, I have no pictures, nor did anything exciting happen.  I'm sure, though, that I can come up with five favorites.

1. Last Saturday, two of my girls and I went yard saling.   I always love to go, you never know what treasure you may find!  We had a good time, but it was hot! hot! hot!

2.  On Monday, though, the weather cooled down and has been in low 80's all week!  Bliss!  I love cooler weather.

3.  It's no secret that I enjoy memes, and this week I've been visiting Karen Valentine's "Where Bloggers Create II" whenever I get a chance.  Over 400 bloggers are sharing pictures of their studios or offices.  Oh my!  I can see why places like Hobby Lobby and Michael's are in business.  There is a whole lotta craft supplies buying going on!  The bloggers participating are listed alphabetically - I've only gotten through the Cs! (If you'd like to visit, click on the link above and then scroll down on Karen's sidebar.) It's interesting to see what inspires people.  For myself, I cannot bear to be surrounded by clutter, so I'm not sure I could have my supplies displayed the way so many seem to do.

4.  I am a person who loves to list.  I was feeling overwhelmed at work so I made a list of extra projects that needed to be done.  Seven things were listed, and I crossed five off already.  Perhaps those last two can be accomplished today ....

5.  One chore at home that needed to be accomplished got done this week, thanks to some encouragement from Elissa.  I've been meaning to rearrange my closet.  Liss took on the job of "entertaining me" while I worked and she folded all the clothes for me.  It's done, praise God, and my clothes have a little room to breathe now.  It's such a good feeling to do something you've been dreading!

Bonus:  I've been listening to one of my favorite songs today, "I Can't Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand" by Charles Johnson and the Revivers.  So true ...

If you'd like to link up and share your favorites, go here.  I'd love to see you there!