Lunch Date

Mark and I went to lunch today.  It was nice to get to sit down in the restaurant and eat and it gave Mark a chance to get away from work for a little while.  We don't stay out long, just long enough to eat, but it is a nice break in the day!  We both got chopped BBQ sandwiches.

When we came back from lunch, we saw these guys and gals chowing down on a deer carcus.  YUMMY!  I thought of the verse, Matthew 6:26, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"

 

I enjoyed being with my lunch date much more!  At least I didn't have to fight over my food!

Speaking of food, I've been fixing sweet potato fries.  We love them!  After I cut them up, I pour olive oil over them and stir them around to make sure they are all coated.  Then I cook them on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.  Add some salt and pepper and enjoy!  They are so much better than the frozen ones!  I think fresh is always better!  And better for you!

Here are a couple of pictures that I took tonight.  I am hoping you can see the spots in the pictures.  They are red and green to the naked eye.  Maybe if you click on the pictures you will be able to enlarge them to see the little glowing spots.  Mark noticed these spots in the trees last year, too.  Here's the explanation of what they are from the internet:

"I believe that what you are seeing is called "Foxfire."  This glowing is caused by certain species of fungi that cause wood rot.  These same fungi are also bioluminescent.  

You can also read about it on Wikipedia HERE.

I listened to another Terri Blackstock book today, entitled, "Covenant Child."  Very good book!

Our pastor is still not 100% healthy, so he did the evening service tonight from his study at home.  I'll be glad when all of the sickness is behind us and we can meet again!  I miss the fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ!

And that's a wrap for today!  Thank You, LORD, for your blessings on me!

Audio Books

My favorite way to "read" books now is to listen to them.  This year I have already listened to these books by Terri Blackstock:

 

I listen to them when I am doing chores, riding in the car, working on jig saw puzzles, showering, while Mark is watching TV (using ear buds), and while I'm doing work on the computer that I don't need to have a lot of concentration, like scrapbooking.  And, just like reading a book, if I get distracted I can back up and listen again.

Terri Blackstock writes Christian, suspense fiction.  I love her writings!  She certainly makes my chores (especially dishes) tolerable! 😉

I am even listening to my daily Bible readings this year using an app called Daily Audio Bible.  I'm listening to the Chronological sessions.

Mark went back to work today.  When he got home, he went to the woods for a couple of hours with Piper.  When he finally got in, got his shower and sat down in his recliner, he couldn't hold his eyes open!  I think he was in bed by 9:00!  I'm sure it will take several days to regain his energy after COVID.  Still no symptoms for me, thank You, LORD!

I got up at 10:30 this morning, after having woke up with a pretty terrible headache and taking some Tylenol and laying back down.  I just took it easy the rest of the day.  I worked in my checkbook, cleaned up some paper work and did some filing, worked on the kitchen, did some knitting, and worked some more on the puzzle.  It's coming along.

Mark hasn't felt like helping me with this one yet.  I think I'll probably start on the sky tomorrow.

Well, that's it for today!  Praying you have a wonderful week!

Healing

Mark went back to the doctor today for a followup.  His lungs are clear and he was released to be able to go back to work on Monday!  He has to quarantine until then, however!  He has felt a lot better today!  Thank You, LORD!  And thank you to all of you who prayed for him! ❤ 

I started another puzzle last night.  It has 1500 pieces and is a Thomas Kincade puzzle.  I decided to sort the pieces as I went into different colors.  I don't think it helped much because some of the colors are so muted that there were sever color bins they could have gone into!  But, I did get the border done!

It is a brand new puzzle that had never been opened.  I got it at the thrift store for $0.99.

I had fixed a beef roast for supper last night.  Tonight, with the leftovers I made some beef vegetable soup.  Mom used to fix cornbread pancakes to eat with vegetable soup, so I did the same with a box of Jiffy mix.  I put some in my soup and some in a glass of milk.  It was yummy and the perfect day for soup as it was cold and rainy here today all day!

I made a layout of Asher sitting on my lap.  He knows when I get this green blanket out and put it in my lap that he is allowed to hop up in my lap.

Here's a couple more pages I did today.

Yes, even in times of troubles and trials, the LORD fills my life with good things!  Thank You, LORD!

The New Grocery Shopping

Mark's COVID test came back positive but mine was negative.  Today he was feeling better, Thank You, LORD!

Because of this pandemic there is a new way to shop for groceries!  With the Food Lion app, I was able to order the groceries, select my time to pick up the groceries, pay a small service fee, wait for the text that tells me my groceries are ready and go to pick them up! When I got to the store, I called to let them know I was there, I opened the hatch to the back of my car and the store employee loaded the groceries.  I didn't have to leave my warm car.  I didn't have to spend time searching for what aisle in which my items were located!  I wasn't tempted to pick up something that wasn't on my list!  I love it!  You do the grocery shopping by sitting in the comfort of your home.....while you watch TV in your pajamas!  Now if I could figure out how to get the groceries put away while I sit in front of the TV in my pajamas!  ;-)

Mark's appetite has been off since he has been sick, especially since he lost his sense of smell.  But, along with feeling better today, he was also ready to eat.  He was craving a "juicy burger."  So while I was out to pick up the groceries, I stopped at Wendy's to get him a Dave's Double Cheeseburger.

The doctor told Mark to start taking 1000mg of Vitamin C, 5000u of Vitamin D, and 50mg of Zinc and also told me to do the same.  

Thanks for your prayers for Mark and I!  Keep them going!

Stars For Today

Mark has not really felt much better today.  He had a headache that sent him to bed in the afternoon.  I woke him up in time to eat supper before we attended online church services.  Praying for a better day tomorrow.  No word yet on the results of the COVID testing. 

We finally finished the puzzle we were working on for a couple of weeks.  The trees were the hardest part.  Wouldn't you love to own that cabin?

Today started with binge watching old Dennis the Menace shows.  Poor Mr. Wilson!  :D

Today's stars at the bird feeder was a big and beautiful red bellied woodpecker and a beautiful nut hatcher.  I caught a tit mouse, too.  I didn't capture the chickadee or the house finches.

The woodpecker

The nut hatch

Tit mouse

I love to see the beauty of the different birds.  God is an amazing artist!  He is awesome!  Thank You, LORD, for sharing this beauty with us!

Genesis  1:20 ¶ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Genesis  1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 ¶ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 ¶ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis  2:1 ¶ Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Your Happiness Is My Reward

We postponed our Christmas gathering last month due to having been exposed to a couple from church who had tested positive for COVID.  That gathering is to be this weekend.  However, it may not happen.  Mark started feeling badly last Wednesday.  His voice started changing.  He was stopped up.  He coughed some.  He felt pretty lousy on Saturday.  Sunday he woke up feeling better, however Monday he was not feeling great again and he had lost his sense of smell.  Today his sense of taste is waning.  Yesterday, since he still was not feeling great we decided to go somewhere to get tested just to be sure since the family is due to come in.

We went to where Mark's family doctor is because they are doing COVID testing from 4-8.  We got there about 3:45, called to let them know we were in the parking lot.  They took our information and said they would call us and send someone out to get us.  They have 4 reserved parking spots around the side of their clinic.  Those were full, so we parked in front of the East Coast Wings and told them where to look for us.

Before they called, one of the spaces cleared out in their reserved parking area.  So, we moved the car over there.  Mark said, "I know that will make East Coast Wings happy."  All of a sudden his phone says to him, "Your happiness is my reward!"  (I'll address this statement more at the end) It struck us both funny and we burst into laughter.  I guess Big Sister was listening to us??!!

Anyway, we got the call at 4:25 and the nurse came out to get us.  She looked like she was going to be taking care of hazardous materials the way she was decked out with the plastic gown that covered her clothes.  And not only did she have on disposable gloves, but she had on a mask AND a face shield!

After examinations the doctor was suspect of Mark having COVID because of losing his sense of smell and because of his sickness lasting as long as it has.  He said it is not uncommon for one spouse to be positive and the other to be negative. He also said even though he was leaning toward Mark having COVID that we would just have to wait for the results to be positive.  He said he has had patients who he could swear had it, but didn't and vise versa!  So, in 2 - 3 days we will have results.  In the meantime we are to quarantine, so Mark will not be going back to work until the test results are back.

I really have not had anything other than the normal sinus stuff I always have and the stuff that is usually related to my IBS problems, but with the family coming in, I went ahead and got tested, too.  First time I have used my Medicare.

So, we would appreciate your prayers for quick test results......and that they are negative!  I really don't want to put off this weekend again!

Now, back to the statement made by the Google chick on Mark's phone, "Your happiness is my reward."  As Christians, shouldn't this be our desire for every person with who we come into contact.......that God brings into our path......that when they leave our presence they are happier than before they came into our presence?  1 Thessalonians 3:12 says, "And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:"  If we truly love others as Christ loves, I know they will leave our presence happier!  Don't you love to be loved by others?

My first thought when I heard this statement was towards my husband.......my desire, as a submissive wife, is and always has been this very thing.......if you are happy, I'm happy!  If you are happy, husband, that is my reward.  That's why I always see to it my husband gets the biggest piece of pie, or whatever.  That's why, after a long day at work, I don't want him to have to fix his own supper.  It's why I do the things I do as a wife.  Do I always get it right?  No, but I try, and it really is my heart's desire.  To serve rather than be served.

And, ultimately, our reward should be in making our LORD happy by obeying Him.  John 14:15 says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  

I pray that each day you and I will be the person to make someone happy.  Let us live our lives in a way that draws people to Christ.

Let It Snow!

Hope you have had a great Saturday!  Mark, especially, has been under the weather for several days.  Not COVID, just his yearly sinus problems for this time of the year.  Today has been a touchy stomach day for me, eating only a slice of toast so far.

Several people are still under the weather at church, too, so the pastor will do the services online again.

Here are some photos from the last couple of days. 

Thursday, January 7th

I went out to find Mark some calendars to hang at work.  Normally every year you get several calendars from various sources.  But we haven't gotten not even one this year!  I found this planner at Big Lots and thought it was pretty spot on!  I loved raising my kids, but there WERE times when I didn't like them so much and needed some time away from them, if only for a couple of hours!  Do I have a witness?  :)   I didn't buy this.  No calendars at Dollar General or Dollar Tree.  Mark didn't want me to spend more than $3.  The cheapest ones at Walmart were $5.  They were $6 at Big Lots!  CVS had one for $13.  So, since I didn't find any, I made my own!

Here are some pictures from my feathered friends enjoying the peanut butter/bird seed covered pinecones I hung in the cedar tree.  Lots of them are eating the fallen seeds from the ground.

Titmouse

I think this is a female house finch.

Everyone knows who this beauty is!

Couple of pictures where I caught birds flying to and from the bird feeder.

Chickadee flying in to share with a male house finch.

Chickadee coming and female house finch going.

I didn't get a clear picture of this American Goldfinch (my first capture of one)!

Video

More pictures.

Titmouse

Chickadee and titmouse.

Let It Snow!!!

Friday, Jan. 8th

We finally got snow!  It was pretty wet, but the huge flakes were beautiful!  You can see some of the flakes and it was coming down so heavy at one time that it looks like the picture is a bit blurry or foggy.

The birds didn't mind the snow at all!

Video

I love this photo of the dove couple.  You can see bits of snow collected on them.

I think this might be a wren that was in the cedar tree.

These little paw prints belong to Asher.

Saturday, January 9th

And the snow was already melting away early this morning as soon as the sun came up!

By early afternoon, the snow was basically gone except for in the shaded areas.

I saw a bigger woodpecker at the feeder today, but I couldn't get zoomed in soon enough to get a picture.  It had a top not on it similar to a pileated woodpecker, but not red.  I'll have to keep a lookout for it to show up again!

Praying you have a wonderful Lord's day and new week!  Thanks for your prayers!