New Neighbors

Some new neighbors are moving in behind us! Construction has started on several homes in the fields in back of us, and we have of course been wondering what our new neighbors would be like.

Well, there is a nice couple moving into the home that is being built right in back of us- I haven't met them personally but from watching them it would seem they would be very congenial.

The interesting thing is that the home is still under construction, so this couple has decided to do their own decorating and building on the side- literally.

This new couple is Mr. and Mrs. Phoebe, and they are happily building a nest on the side of the new home under construction, inside a hooded vent! It has been extremely interesting to watch the progress- and the patience they demonstrate as they take one stick at a time into the vent. They enjoy sitting on the branches of the dead tree currently taking up space in our back yard. They will sit there and preen and sing and just plain enjoy life and the sunshine around them.

I have been encouraged and blessed watching them fly around, and doing all the things that phoebe's do. After going several months without noticing many birds in our area, it is a huge blessing to be noticing new ones each day- now I just trust the construction workers don't notice this little bit of nest building going on in the home they are building!

Max, I might add, really enjoys sitting on his perch watching all his feathered friends flying around. He would love to interact with them on a more personal basis, but since he is an inside cat, he has to be content to just observe.

My Overflowing Jam Jar

After reading a friend's (aka niece's) blog this morning about the abundance of her jam jar, I was greatly encouraged to take a better look at the state of my own chipped jam jar.

I was sort of thinking that my poor old chipped jar was way less than half full and leaking out at a very rapid rate- my husband has not felt well this week, I have had no phone call back from my job interview, I only had cow birds at my feeder, etc, etc. etc. whine, whine, whine.

Then I started thinking about things a little differently, and realized that my own chipped jam jar is so full it is overflowing.

• I had the joy this morning of planting some creeping phlox in my "Jan Garden"
• There were two mourning doves feeding on the ground outside my bay window in the breakfast nook- enjoying the seeds that those stupid cow birds knocked off, so maybe they aren't so bad after all. It was such a pretty sight to enjoy watching them as they poked around beside azelea's and pansies that are blooming so profusely at the moment.
• We had wonderful freinds from NH pop in for a visit this morning. Yeah!
• We had dinner last evening with my father in law, my daughter in law, and my son outside on the wonderful and nicely decorated deck of my daughter's home.
• It is now warm enough so that I can enjoy eating lunch out on our patio.
• There was a red-winged blackbird on mybird feeder this morning.
• We have lots of meadowlarks on our back lawn several times a day. What a lovely bird to see up close.
• And the list goes on and on. My heart is full of thanksgiving for His wonderful goodness. Thanks Lori for reminding me to count my blessings. They are truly abundant.

Yard Sales and Gardens and Jan

Today the neighborhood where we live had a yard sale - there were around 26 homes participating, so there was lots of traffic going through. It was fun to participate, meet new neighbors and sell things I don't really need anymore. (It even surprised me that I had things to get rid of since we had gotten rid of so much when we moved last year. )

As I was preparing for the sale this week, and then selling things today, I had many good memories of going yard saling with Jan. Her enthusiasm for bargain hunting was contagious. I had fun remembering our annual treks to Maine with a van load of ladies, leaving at 4 AM, watching Jan mark out the sale locations on her map, and then her good navigation skills as she guided us around the city. We all ended up with lovely bargains, had good laughs and friendly competition as we would race to see who could get out of the van first and grab all the good bargains.

I was debating what to do with the proceeds of my sale today, until I thought of Jan, and the yard sale memories, and her love for plants and gardens. So, I thought, Aha! The funds are going towards plants to put in a garden area in our front lawn. It looks pretty generic at the moment, and needs lots of color so it will be a joy to put lots of colorful perennials in that will remind me of Jan. I can look at it and be reminded of so many good memories.

And, I can look out at my "Jan Garden", and be reminded of that glorious time in the future when we all will be enjoying our heavenly mansions, and there will be tears no more. She is in that enviable spot now but we all will be joining her before long. What a grand day that will be

Thanks Jan, for the memories.

My Friend

"But let those who love Him be like the sun

When it comes out in full strength."

Judges 5:31

The sun is warm and bright and shining. My friend Jan loved Him, and she was warm and bright and shining. I will miss her but she now is shining up with Him.

You fought the good fight Jan. What a testimony for all of us.

My prayers are with her family and friends.

The Job Interview

I did something today I haven't done for quite some time. I actually went on a job interview.

Nearly a month ago I applied on line for a part time job here in McD. It sounded perfect for me, but so much time has gone by I figured they must have found somebody else, so I have been continuing to look, passing out resumes, eagerly seraching all the want ads etc.

So far, not one response, call back, or any other kind of acknowledgment that anybody received my information,let alone read any of it. If these people only knew what a wonderful prospective employee they were ignoring!

So imagine my surprise when I got a call this morning to go in for an interview to the place I had applied to a month ago! And, could I please come in an hour??? Sure,...um... no problem... I will be there. The first thing I had to do was scrub all the red dirt off my hands - I had been happily weeding away in the back yard, and was nicely covered with lovely red dirt/clay.

I pulled out my "interview outfit", breathed a thankful prayer to the Lord that on Monday I had actually on the spur of the moment bought a pair of dressy black shoes, and hustled out the door. I arrived at my destination in less than 15 minutes, made it through the interview, and am more convinced that the job would be perfect for me. She promised she would call, so now I continue to wait and trust that the Lord will open it up for me, if that is what He wants.

One never know what will come into the day!

Updates to follow!!!

Camelia's

These gorgeous camelia's are from Nate and Penny's yard-what a delight to have fresh flowers floating in a dish.

We enjoyed a nice family BBQ at Nate and Penny's today. I was going to post a picture of the steaks on the grill but thought I might make people jealous. I will attest to the fact that they were very good! Nate is a good chef!

Today was a very warm, even hot day. It was a joy to have the windows open and hear the sounds of birds praising the Lord, as well as the sounds of carpenters putting on siding on the house behind us. Well, maybe the pounding noise wasn't a joy, but the sounds of nature that came through were. It is hard to believe that it is March because it feels like late June would feel in Dublin. But it really is only March and I am enjoying it immensly.



Another thing that came into my day was a nice ladies fellowship, where along with other things we spent some time celebrating the upcoming birthday of our Pastor's Wife. She is indeed a blessing to us all. Three cheers fora special lady!

And Praise the Lord for a very special Sabbath day. God is good. 

Greetings from Max

This morning Max was enjoying the warm sunshine pouring in at our kitchen window. He did allow me to interupt him for a few minutes to snap this picture of him posing in his special spot. He does enjoy spending hours sleeping here, or watching out the window for the occasional birds that show up. Of course he tries to interact with the birds, but the glass is a strong deterrent in allowing him to capture his prey.

Max also acted as the congenial host welcoming some visitors from the north country who dropped in for a few minutes to see us and our home today. The fact they our daughter in law, daughter and son in law also were with them was an added bonus! Nice to have friends and family.

Max is certainly a welcome and enjoyable member of our household. He would send you a message himself but hasn't quite conquered the keyboard. He just took off to another part of the house after coming to inspect what I had written so far, so I guess this is the end of today's musings. 

Sunrise

This glorious sunrise was a special treat to us recently. This picture was taken from our kitchen window.

It didn't last very long, but it brought such delight to our spirits! What a joy that we have such beautiful views of God's marvelous creation. I am so thankful that He loves beauty, and that He let us see this array of His handiwork.

Views like this won't be as wonderful in the future, as there are now several houses being built in that vacant area behind our home, but we will still be able to enjoy His colors.

This was so beautiful I had to share it. Enjoy.

Ok, I give up. After months of digging in and not wanting to join in I guess the time has come for me to join the blogging world. I have no idea how often I will post, or what I will say, but at least now I have started. And, the loud noise you hear in the background is me protesting that I really don't want to do this, but am being forced by my family.

I will mention one of the delights of my recent days is being able to pick fresh pansies. You must realize this comes partly from living in the frozen north for 9 years, and not having fresh flowers from October to May. So, I am enjoying this privilege with great joy and glee, as I think of my friends in the frozen north!

Oh, and the blossoming trees that are everywhere are another source of delight to me!

And thus ends my first post.