Unfortunately my dad at my current age was no longer among the living. He passed on to the next life in Heaven at the age of sixty-seven (67) and seven (7) months. If he’d lived longer he would be taking photos and traveling with my mom to places around the United States of America.
My mom would have been a widow of two and one-half (2 1/2) years. She would have been dealing with grief and going through my dad’s belongings and deciding what to keep, what to sell, and what to give away. She would have been working as a secretary for a church office and teaching a Sunday school class. She would have also taken her dream trip to Alaska via a cruise ship and touring various places in Alaska. She would have continued to read her daily devotions and read her romance fiction novels.
Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting.
U. S. National Whitewater Center
The U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina has the largest the world’s largest manmade whitewater river and has outdoor activities all year long. Besides the Whitewater River area, the Center also has 1,300 acres of protected woodlands along the Catawba River. No matter your preference, the Whitewater Center offers a wide range of recreational opportunities to intrigue your interest for a fantabulous experience in the great outdoors.
I have not done many water sports since my younger more limber and flexible days of my youth. What does perk my interests in visiting the U.S. National Whitewater Center are the forty (40) miles of trails designed for mountain biking and trail racing. You don’t have to ride a mountain bike or race on the trails to enjoy them. The 40+ miles of trails are a great opportunity for hikers as well. The trails are shared by hikers, runners, and bikers at all times.
The trails are natural surface and wind across the 1,300 acre woods of the Center. The trails run along the Catawba River and through hardwood and pine forests. The use of the trails are free not requiring an access pass, however, the Whitewater Center does charge $12 for a day parking pass and $40 for an annual parking pass.
Parking legend & Off Leash Facility Trail Map
I think Coleman and I would enjoy hikers some of the various trails at the WhitewaterCenter given the opportunity for warmer weather, costs and transportation to and from the Center.
For more information about the U.S. National Whitewater Center and what it has to offer click here .
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Coleman and I love to go hiking and whenever I am Willing to go hiking, he is always Willing to put on his hiking boots rearing to go on a hiking adventure. No matter when or where we might venture on our adventures I am usually almost always Willing to bring my Canon along to take photographs of the amazingly beautiful nature surrounding whatever hiking trail we choose to tackle for the day.
Most often than not Coleman and I close to hike in a local Greenway, Nature Preserve, or a State Park. Coleman is always excited and rearing to go out for a hike. He distastes being cooped up indoors. The majority of Greenways or State Parks are filled with Green trees, lawns, and vegetation. It’s like walking through a lush Green forest snapping photographs one by one with my Camera. I often take photographs with my iPhone as well as my Canon.
For this post I am combining several challenges into one post. I Willing chosen to select Photographs with plenty of Green using Green and Hiking as my theme for Judy’s Numbers Game.
Here are the Photographs with Green I am Willing to share with y’all for Judy’s Numbers Game, the RDP prompt of Photograph, Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge of Green, and lastly, but no less important FOWC prompt of Willing.
Landsford Canal State Park Catawba, South Carolina
I trust you have enjoyed seeing the Photographs of the lush Green trees as we hiked the Canal Trail at Landsford Canal State Park I do Willingly captured for your viewing pleasure. Click on any image for an enhanced view. Be sure to take a look at each Photograph Challenge I’ve included to get a look at what others have posted.,
Do you or your family make any special dishes for the holidays?
Special dishes for the holidays? We have not had any particular special dishes for the holidays in a very very long time. In fact, we have not had large family gatherings since before my maternal grandfather passed in 1968. I used to love going to my maternal grandparents home and not just for the holidays. My grandmother was a fantastic cook and I learned a lot from her. I wish I could remember everything she tried to teach me. Oh if I would have had the insight and forethought to ask more questions about her life and to take notations regarding all the wisdom she tried to I still, it would be wonderful.
This year’s Thanksgiving gathering (probably couldn’t really call it a gather) consisted of just Coleman and myself. His mom had to work. My sons and my daughter do not get along right now, so they were not invited (probably wouldn’t have come anyway.)
Did I let it only being Coleman and myself hinder me from preparing a fantastic fulfilling Thanksgiving meal? No, I did not. By the time I could manage to be able to go to the store for a turkey, all the small turkeys were sold out. I had wanted a small turkey, after all Coleman and I didn’t need a large one especially since he doesn’t like to eat meat. That meant only I would be eating the turkey and his mom when she got home from work.
Instead of a small whole turkey (sold out) or a small turkey breast (sold out), I cooked a Turkey tenderloin with carrots and petite potatoes in the crockpot and let them cook all day long. When the turkey, carrots, and potatoes were almost done, I began cooking sweet potatoes and seasoned Brussel sprouts in the oven. (Coleman loves his vegetables). I also baked crescent rolls (Coleman’s choice) in the oven to go with the meal.
My Thanksgiving dinner plate
After discovering what I thought was a pumpkin pie turned out to be a sweet potato pie; I made lactose free banana cream pudding with vanilla wafers for dessert. (Coleman is lactose intolerant so the dessert needed to be special for him.) I used his lactose free milk to make the pudding. After it thickened, I scooped the banana cream pudding into small individual size Tupperware containers and place four wafers around the edges of the pudding.
Lactose free Banana cream Pudding
Coleman really enjoyed eating his baked sweet potatoes, petite potatoes, carrots, and Brussel sprouts. Oh, I can’t forget he enjoyed his crescent rolls and his lactose free banana cream pudding.
God Bless. Thank you for visiting and listening about our Thanksgiving Holiday Meal. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
I, personally, do eat meat. However, it is limited in quantity and no red meat at all. I stopped eating red meat after having a bout with uterine fibroids. The doctor did not recommend anything to help treat or prevent further complications. I did some online research into the subject and discovered that red meat could hinder and possibly make them worse. Therefore, I stopped consuming red meat. I do eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Now, if you ask my grandson about his feelings about eating meat he will flat out tell you he does not like meat. He loves any and every kind of fruits and vegetables, however, he will not eat meat of any kind unless it is plant based meat. Even though he will eat plant based meat, he prefers to only eat fruits and vegetables.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
I would have to say my favourite hobby/pastime is Reading. Lately I’ve been reading three books 📚 at once. I read Amish Fiction, Inspirational Fiction, Romance Fiction, and Mysteries. I am currently reading an Amish mystery, and two other mystery novels. I am reading one in my Kindle app, one in my iBooks, and one in my Glose app. My current reading streak is 280 days in a row, 52 weeks in a row. I read each novel for a minimum of 25-30 minutes per day.
Reading helps me to relax and unwind from any stress or anxiety in my day. My other favourite pastime is hiking, but that is a story/post for another day. Reading is something I can do while my grandson watches his favourite show or plays with his toys. Sometimes he interrupts my reading, but that is alright; I will always make time for whatever he needs.
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
A few days ago, as Coleman and I were walking home from the museum we encountered a stranger. Normally we/I wouldn’t think anything about it, but this time was kind of different. We usually ride the city transit back and forth from our home to the museum or library or the YMCA, but the city changed the bus routes which made it take four times as long to get anywhere. On this particular day we rode the bus to try out the new routing system. Instead of a fifteen-minute bus ride to the museum, now we had to get on one bus (the pink line) and wait for it to run half of its route to take us to the station where we had to transfer to another bus (the blue line) to take us to the museum. Before the city transit system rearranged the bus routes we only had to get on the blue line, ride a short fifteen minutes and we were at our destination. We decided we didn’t want to ride the bus for over an hour and a half to get back home, so we decided to walk home instead. This day just so happen to be one of the hotter days we’ve had lately. However, it wasn’t raining as of yet. This year it seems to rain several times a week every single week. It is a two mile walk from the museum to where we live. we walked a little over a mile when this stranger, whose house we were passing in front of, asked us if we would like a ride. I do not normally accept rides from people I do not know, but it was a little hot and Coleman was walking with me. I thought about it for a few short minutes and decided to take this elder gentleman stranger up on his offer. It was a good thing too, because shortly after we arrived home it did begin raining. Upon getting in the house, I told Coleman that the stranger had just performed a good deed. Sometimes the kindness of strangers is like angels unaware watching over us.
I did not own a computer until around 2005 or 2006, I’m not sure exactly which year. It was given as a gift to aide in my ancestry research. I also a card program on it to make my own cards, postcards, and magnets.
The computer was nothing like the laptop I currently own. It was old and bulky having several wires to connect to the keyboard and the internet via a wireless hotspot on my phone.
The computer was a beige box shaped computer monitor with an upright Pentium-equipped tower computer manufactured by Gateway. I do not recall if it was installed with Microsoft 95 or 98. I do know it was slow at times but it worked and I had never owned a computer of any kind before. I never even used a computer until my oldest son was in high school and the high school is also where I occasionally used a computer.
A pizza-box form-factor desktop computer manufactured by Gateway, circa mid-1990s [wikipedia]
When I received the Gateway computer I was also given several discs and the instruction manual. Among the discs were several which helped with my ancestral work, Plus an encyclopedia and other learning resource discs.
At the time of owning the Gateway computer I only owned a very basic phone, I think it was a Nokia possibly the Nokia 3220.
Nokia 3220 Similar to my first cell phone
Times have changed, advances have been made, and I have learned and adapted to the technological changes and advances over the years.
I currently own an HP laptop and an iPhone smartphone. Technology and I have come along way over the years. Does one ever forget their first computer or first anything? Maybe, maybe not.
These are the top five items that we use most frequently. The Lactose Free milk for my grandson. He goes through about a gallon and a half per week. My preference and my grandson’s is the Oatnut bread. He does not care for other types of bread, The Bisquick I use to make Coleman homemade waffles for breakfast a couple Tonya week. We also use an egg for the waffles and for homemade French toast. My grandson won’t eat eggs any other way. Most of our suppers are made with ground turkey or fresh chicken.
What are your top 5 grocery store items? Looking forward to seeing what’s on y’all’s lists.
The Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium is our favorite place to go to in our city, however, the most favorite place we love to go, and hike is in a town called Fort Mill. Fort Mill has many interesting places to visit where you can hike, or just enjoy the scenery.
The place we like to go and hike the most is called Anne Springs Close Greenway. The Greenway has five (5) different points of entrance and one can hike any one of the many trails on the 2,100 acres of nature preserve. The trails cover thirty-six (36) miles of hiking pleasure for hikers, runners, walkers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders to enjoy. Dogs are welcome but must be on a leash.
Whenever we are able to visit the Greenway, we like to enter at a different entrance point every time. Visiting different entrances gives us access to the many different trails and beautiful scenery accessible at the various locations. The most popular entrance is the Lake Haigler Entrance and is used by guests frequently. The entrances are:
Lake Haigler Entrance/Greenway Gateway – activities my include hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, paddleboarding and fishing (free for members only, must have an SC Fishing License), or enjoy a meal at the Canteen. A new children’s playground is being constructed at this entrance.
Points of Interests: Greenway Gateway (Visitor Center), Gateway Canteen (Dining), Bruce Rush Pavilion, Historic Nation Ford Road, Kayak Launch, Swinging Bridge, and Scoville Dock.
Dairy Barn Entrance – hiking, close to the main Suspension Bridge and the Greenway Spillway.
Points of Interest: Founders Dairy Barn, Betsy McLean Plant-A-Row for the Hungry Garden, Comporium Amphitheater, Faires-Coltharp Cabin, Graham Cabin, and Swinging Bridge.
Adventure Road Entrance – hiking and mountain biking, fishing (members only), disc golf, dog park play (Add-on membership required).
Points of Interests: Bob Reid Field Trial Barn, Lake Crandall, Lake Frances, Marion Walsh Outdoor Classroom, Mary Warner Mack Dog Park, Stumpy Pond, Swinging Bridges (3).
Greenway Stables Entrance – hiking, horseback riding (Advanced registration required), visit farm animals, a new children’s farm is in process of being constructed. Coleman loves to visit the many horses and farm animals at this location.
Points of Interest: Greenway Stables, Farm animals
Blue Star Entrance – Mountain biking and hiking
Points of Interest: Garrison-Webb Grist Mill, North Tunnel
I encourage y’all if you are ever in the area to stop by and visit the Anne Springs Close Greenway. Beautiful Nature Preserve, Wildflower Garden, and many amazing sights to see and photograph. My grandson, Coleman, and I love to visit the Greenway any and every opportunity we receive. I highly recommend visiting.
Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).
The answer to this question would depend on one’s definition of personal. According to Merriam Webster, personal means of relating to, or constituting personal property; intended for private use or use by one person. Keeping this definition in mind, furniture would not apply to being the most expensive personal item which I have ever purchased since it is also used by other members of my family.
When I was in high school, I would state that the most expensive personal I purchased was my camera, a Minolta XG-7 35mm with a 50mm lens, a 2x converter, a telephoto lens, and a flash attachment. However, we are talking about the here and now and not in the past. At this present day and age, the most expensive personal item I have purchase would be my current camera of usage which I bought back in 2012. I purchased the Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S 18-55mm lens, the Canon EF-S 55-250mm lens and a Canon camera strap bundle from Costco. I have since added the Canon EF 75-300mm lens and an Altura for Canon macro wide-angle fisheye attachment.
My camera is certainly not the newest model out there (even though it was at the time I bought it), but it serves me well and I enjoy using it tremendously.
Do I need time? Time for what one might ask. More time in a day? No, I do not think I need more time in a day. I really wouldn’t know what to do with more time in any given day. At times day seem extremely long and boring as it is, however, I would not want to change the length of time that is considered a day.
Some might want more time for sleep in a day, but I do not sleep more than four-five hours a night as it is. My mind continuously flows and sometimes I have a hard time getting to sleep. Then again, at other times I fall asleep when I am trying to read.
Do I want more time to travel? Not really, what I would want is more money so I could afford to do the travelling I so desire in my heart to accomplish.
More time to read? Not really. I read as much or as little as I would like now. I read whenever and wherever my heart desires now so there is no need for added time.
Do you need more time? If you were given more time, what would you accomplish with the additional time?
Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home.
I always considered traveling the distance from the west coast to the east coast to be the longest I had ever traveled from home. I have traveled many times from Southern California to the Carolinas many times throughout my lifetime. First, as a child with my family growing up to see my paternal grandparents and later on, on my own to visit my paternal grandfather and my dad’s brother and sister and their families.
Thinking about the place which might be the furthest I have ever traveled from home, I began to wonder the actual distance in miles of places I have traveled from home to calculate where the furthest place from home I have traveled to.
After my calculations and deliberations I discovered that the furthest I have traveled from home occurred in 2020 before the pandemic lockdown was initiated.
At the beginning of 2020 I was still processing the deaths of family members which happened in 2019. I was lost and searching for whatever and wherever my life’s direction would be. I was at the time living in a tent in a local campground. I saw a post of Facebook from Monica, my sister-n-law’s sister, asking for someone to share a cruise to Mexico with her. I decided why not and sent her a message agreeing to share a cabin.
Initially I was at a loss on his to pay for it and what all it would entail. She made it sound so easy and agreed I could pay after after I arrived in Texas. The reason for the delay was I was waiting on approval and payment from the Social Security administration regarding my spousal retirement benefits. I also had to wait for my passport to arrive in order for me to be allowed to board the cruise ship out of Galveston, Texas.
In late January of 2020 I boarded a bus in Charlotte, North Carolina. First, however, I drove to my daughter’s apartment to leave my car there and then she drove my to the bus station to await my departure.
The bus trip took my from Charlotte, NC to San Antonio, Texas (approximately 1,231 miles) for the initial leg of my journey. This was the first time I had travelled long distance by bus. Normally I drove across country using a rental vehicle. The bus trip was not too bad. I actually had a seat in a row all to myself so it was not crowded and I could stretch out (the best one can on a bus) if I desired.
The bus stopped at many locations along the route and took approximately 32 hours to reach San Antonio. It was necessary for me to transfer buses in Houston to complete the trip to San Antonio. From San Antonio i boarded yet another bus to take me to San Marcos, Texas (another 58 miles) where Monica had agreed to pick me up and take me to her home in Canyon Lake (an additional 27 miles) to await the date to leave on our cruise.
Monica’s home was not as I had expected and I couldn’t hardly wait for the day we would board the cruise ship. I did get to sightsee a little bit in New Braunfels, Texas. There I walked around sightseeing while Monica went to a couple of appointments. New Braunfels was the closest shopping area from her home.
Finally, the day arrived to head to Port Galveston to board our cruise ship. The drive from her home in Canyon Lake to Galveston was 255 miles and took approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes. I was ready to depart long before Monica. I think I was a little anxious about arriving on time but also excited about the adventure I was about to embark upon.
Getting a late start from her home I was worried we would be late arriving at the port. I hoped we would not miss being able to board. I did not want to miss the cruise. Thankfully we were not too late and were processed (passports and identification checked and verified) an able to embark aboard our cruise ship, Enchantment of the Seas.
The cruise was full of amazing entertainment, food, and many activities for one’s participation. Surprisingly, to me, Monica chose to stay in our room instead of watching the entertainment or eating meals in the dining room. Everything was exquisite; the food was delicious, the service was amazing, the entertainment was spectacular. I could go on and on, it was incredible.
Our first port we docked in was Cozumel, Mexico. At this port Monica didn’t feel well and remained on board the cruise ship. She did not mind my going ahead and disembarking to look and the port. I saw many shops ( not far away as it is a tourist destination).
This was a 5 day cruise with stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico. We were at sea for a little more than a day before reaching our first destination of Cozumel. Even though Monica stayed on board, I enjoyed myself walking around the port visiting the shops and just wandering around the area. Back on board the ship for another day at sea before reaching our second port destination of Costa Maya. I was never board while on the cruise ship or in port. There were so many options to choose to participate in including a walking track on the ninth deck. I try to walk everyday and walking the track was a good option other than walking up and down the stairs to get from our cabin to the dining room, or one of the various locations for entertainment.
Aboard the Enchantment of the Seas
In Costa Maya, I was surprised, Monica joined me in disembarking the cruise ship to walk around the port. I think she actually relaxed and enjoyed herself somewhat.
The entire trip one way was approximately 3,171.1 miles to reach the destinations for my cruise adventure to Mexico. Would I do it again? Maybe someday, however, the cost for a single person is rather high. All cabin prices a based on a two person occupancy. Therefore if a person doesn’t have anyone to share the cruise with you have the entire amount as an expense. I did enjoy the cruise and had a lovely time visiting the ports, watching the entertainment and devouring the delicious meals.
Thank you for listening and sharing your time and thoughts. I know this was rather long winded. I didn’t know how to make my adventure far from home into a short story.
I blog because I can. That’s a simplistic answer I know. In all honesty, I blog as an outlet for release of my thoughts and feelings. I used to right my thoughts down in a daily planner, needing a new planner every year, but then planners get packed away, misplaced or simply forgotten.
By writing my thoughts and feelings into my life and my surroundings it helps to analyze and take an accounting of my own actions. It is therapeutic for me just like my need to be out in nature hiking and photographing the landscape & the world around my very existence.
For the past 405 days I have consistently posted something on my blog. It might have been a short response to a daily prompt, an entry for a photo challenge, or a post about something meaningful to me. This is the longest streak I have ever had of consistently posting blog posts.
I enjoy posting a little bit about myself and my surroundings. I am enthusiastically enjoying participating in the many various writing prompts and photography challenges. What about you, why do you blog? Looking forward to reading what y’all post next.
Lesser Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron strigosa)
Stay true to yourself. Share your stories, your photos, Share a small piece of your world. It only matters to you (or me) what each of us decide to post on our blogs. Blog as much or as little as you desire. It’s all up to you.
What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?
I search online all the time. I’m always to identify different animals, especially butterflies & dragonflies, as well as various landmarks and landscapes.
The last thing I searched online for was The Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis). I was searching to identify a butterfly my daughter sent me a picture of. Curious to know what kind of butterfly it was, I did an google image search. Upon doing the google image search I discovered it was an Hackberry Emperor butterfly. I also discovered, thanks to www.inaturalist.orgthat it is a North American butterfly belonging to the family of brushfooted butterflies, Nymphalidae.
Choosing my top ten favorite movies is something to contemplate, not something I think about on a daily basis. I’ll try to list them, but not in any particular order.
Top Ten Favorite Movies:
The Sound of Music
Mary Poppins
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
It’s a Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
Fiddler on the Roof
Back to the Future
ET
An Officer and a Gentleman
A Christmas Carol
These movies I have watched several times, the Christmas movies I watch every year just before Christmas.
What are your top favorite movies? Looking forward to your responses.
What Television shows did I watch as a kid? Let me tell you, back when I was a child my brother and I mainly watched whatever our parents chose to watch on the television. Most of the time we did not have a chose, a say, a vote in what was going to be watched at any time of the day or night. With that being said, I’ll let you know what was being played on the television in our home. Sundays after church if the tv was on my mom watched sports, e.g., baseball or football. My dad preferred NASCAR races, IndyCar races, basically any kind of car races. Sunday evenings after evening church services we watched The Wonderful World of Disney. During the weekdays after my mom got home from work, she either watched soap operas or game shows. when my dad got home after supper the news was watched and then we watched shows like Little House on the Prairie, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, or other western style shows. However, if there was a sports program on in the evening then my mom got the privilege of watching whichever sports program she desired.
To this day I still watch the older shows like Perry Mason, Little House on the Prairie, Fall Guy, The Six Million Dollar Man (Which I am currently watching), Ironside, The Rockford Files, Magnum P.I. (the original version, Star Trek, Happy Days, Charlie’s Angels, Gunsmoke and other shows from the 70’s.
My favourite time of day is in the late late evening after everyone else goes to sleep. It is extremely quiet and peaceful leaving an uncanny feeling of tranquility.
The late late evening is when I am best able to think, formulate and write my thoughts and ideas down. It is when I am able to contemplate what photos I would like to use and am able to construct a satisfying blog post. It is also the most peaceful and efficient time for me to upload photos from my memory card to my computer and sort out ones I wish to discard and which to keep.
It is also the time when I am able to read without any distractions or interruptions. It is a quiet and relaxing time period for me and that is why it is my favourite time of the day.
Today’s Daily Prompt is asking what our favorite genre of music happens to be. I know mine has changed over the years. I enjoy a variety of genres including jazz, classical, pop, classic rock (from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s), country, blue grass, and gospel. At the present time my favourite genre of music is southern gospel. Some of my favourite southern gospel artists include Ivan Parker, The Revelators Quartet, Kings Cause, and Russ Adair. I also love to hear Randy Travis sing southern gospel and country.
God Bless. Thank you for listening. I appreciate y’all.
If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?
If I were forced to wear only one outfit over and over again it would not be a problem for me. I would wear my favorite pair of blue jeans, my favorite Til Valhalla Thank You Vietnam Veterans Remembrance T-shirt and my hiking boots ( if I needed shoes). Why wouldn’t I wanna wear was comfortable and meaningful over and over.
God Bless. Thank you for listening. I appreciate y’all.
Practicing religion is different than living a life of faith. According to Oxford, Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods. It also has 2 other definitions: 1) a particular system of faith and worship; 2) a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.
When I think of religion, I think of Catholicism, Protestant, Baptist, Methodist, and a few others which are all subsets under their banner of Christianity. I think of Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam. There are many different versions and belief systems under each of the basic religion categories.
I would not say that I practice religion, I would rather state that I try to live my life based on my faith in God and my belief that Jesus came into the world to save me and bring me to an everlasting relationship with Him. I believe that Religion can take away the closeness that God wants us to have with Him. It is more important to have faith and believe in God than it is to be caught up in the rituals that many religions practice on a regular basis.
My life is by no means perfect or what some would call religious but that does not mean that my faith and belief in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are not real. They are very real. I believe that God answers prayers. His answers may not be what I’m looking for, however, that doesn’t mean that He does not answer. I trust in God. I know He provides for me, protects me, and will never leave me.
God Bless. Thank you for listening to me. I appreciate y’all.
I lose myself in reading for at least thirty minutes everyday. Once a week or more I try to get out in nature and lose myself in the woods. Mind you I don’t actually get lost. I just enjoy communing with nature and enjoying the wonders of God’s amazingly beautiful creation. When I’m reading a book or hiking in the woods, I’m able to release any stress from the day or week & am able relax and thank God for the positives in my life thereby not focusing on negativity.
God Bless. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate y’all.
Who do I spend the most time with? The person I spend the most time with is my grandson, Coleman. I take care of him 24/7, so he is always with me. It is extremely rare if he is not with me. Do I wish I had other companionship? Yes, but for the time being that seems very unlikely.
Coleman is my hiking buddy. I feed him, bath him, read to him, and try to take him places that he would enjoy. Most of way he likes to go is anywhere he can hike and be outdoors. Recently, one of his favorite places to visit is the Schiele Museum. He loves to visit the Dinosaur Exhibits.
My grandson, Coleman
God Bless. Thank you for visiting. I appreciate y’all.
There are only a few of my personal belongings that I hold dear. The following are the personal belongings I consider myself to hold most dear to my heart.
A Five shelf light cherry stained shelf unit. You might wonder why I would hold a piece of furniture dear to me. The reason that I hold it dear to me is that my father made it specifically for me. It made it where the shelves are adjustable so I can readjust the space in between each shelf as I deemed necessary. I’ve had books on it, knickknacks, like bird statutes, and later bears (both figurines & stuffed).
A Singer sewing machine from the late 1960’s and its cabinet. This sewing machine is the one I learned to sew on when I was in Junior High School. I used it to sew all the sewing projects from my home economics class and still use it occasionally to this day.
Two Minolta XG-7 35 mm cameras. One is mine and one was my dad’s. The Minolta 35 mm camera was my first 35 mm camera. I bought mine when I was in high school. My dad and I took a photography class through adult education at a local high school. We learned how to develop film & had several projects in the class using black and white film.
The one (actually several) other thing(s) that I hold dear is/are a number of photo albums which contain slides that my dad took throughout our lives. They hold precious memories of vacations and other activities and events we did as a family.
These are things I will not get rid of in my lifetime. My children do not hold these same belongings dear to them. Hence, after I’m gone they will probably toss them out like rubbish. For them these belongings do not hold any special significance or memory like they do for me.
What personal belongings do you hold most dear? I’d be interested to see what y’all hold dear to your heart.
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
Beginning as a teenager I had a stamp collection which included United States and World stamps. Collecting stamps and placing them in the stamp album is something my dad and I did together. We would go to coin and stamp shows and look for ones we might like to add to our collections. Those are fond memories. I still have my stamp collection. I was given my dad’s stamp collection after my mom passed. It is one of several things I treasure, not for what it is but of the memories made with my dad.
Besides looking at stamps to our collections, I would look for postcards that I might like to add to my postcard collection. Whenever we would go any where whether it was a coin and stamp show, a museum, or on a trip across country I would purchase postcards to add to my collection. Some of the postcards I would use to send to friends and others I would add to the album where I stored my postcards. I have two photo albums that hold my collection of postcards. They remind me of places I’ve visited. Some of them are special in a different way, they are ones that used to belong to my maternal grandfather. What makes them special? The pictures on those postcards are of some of my maternal ancestors. Others tell the story of my maternal grandfather’s time in the military during World War I. They are special because they help tell the history of my ancestors. I will always treasure them.
Currently, I do not collect anything except for memories. Since I’ve grown older, I find the memories I make with friends and family (especially my grandson, Coleman) are more precious and valuable than any tangible item I could ever collect.
God Bless. Thank you for listening and sharing in my memories. I appreciate y’all.
Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography 