Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Merry Christmas to you.......

Merry, Merry Christmas to you......Back to the New York City trip after Christmas....below are random pictures of some of my favorite things...
This wreath hangs in the den and tells the whole story.....

The Reason for the Season...Our Lord Jesus Christ.......








I didn't use the big pre-lit tree this year....just a pencil tree....

Another Nativity.....
One of my favorite cookie jars...

I bought this large dome cloche last week for a dollar....
Soup tureen....
Holly over pictures...
Some silver bling....
Kitchen table dishes...
When I was 15 months old, I wrote my first letter to Santa...this is really vintage....1942...I really didn't write the letter, I just told my Mama what to write.....well, not really.....
Shortly after making this picture, it fell off the easel, a few minutes letter the easel collapsed....the glass did not break....

Edward walked down the steps, knocked over some of the soldiers and commented the grandchildren would do the same. They had already been up and down several times without disturbing them. I think it's just a Pop thing......
These bring back sweet memories of our 'real' flock of sheep.

I bought this print to give as a gift but decided I liked it so well I kept it......

The grandchildren like to push the button to make Santa swing at the golf ball...
A nice cup of coffee or tea on my desk.....
Snowmen at the front door and I've just realized I didn't make a picture of the front door wreath....oh well....

Please have a safe and joyous Christmas with those you love and do remember our military who are serving on distant shores to protect our freedom and freedom around the world. Their families are heroes as well .....Betty

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

New York City here we come......

If someone had told me earlier in the year that I would be going to New York City I would have laughed in their face...especially flying...I've never flown and wasn't sure I ever would. When Edward was employed full time in his secular job I had been invited to accompany him on flights but I declined. Once I said 'yes' and a couple of weeks before we were to leave there was a terrible plane crash in Iowa and I immediately said, "NO WAY HOSEA".....

A cousin, Mary Jo, called about a month ago and said she and several friends were going to 'Christmas In The Big Apple' and invited me to go. Edward and I discussed it and I decided to go for it....

We left in the middle of night, well at 3:45 in the morning, to drive to a small airport where we boarded a small commuter plane to Atlanta. It was raining but not storming. I was in constant communication with my Heavenly Father but I wasn't afraid.

We arrived at the airport in Atlanta and boarded 'the big bird'....it just went on and on.







About two hours later we were in New York City. We've driven there before but it looks entirely different from the sky.....
As we deplaned, the Captain and Stewardess greeted us. I thanked him for a first safe flight and asked if I might make their picture. She instead made mine with him...I had requested Sully but...well...you know.....
Some of the scenery down at South Street Seaport....
A water taxi....
The Brooklyn Bridge in the background.
Lunch at the Pacific Grill....LaRue, Joyce, Susie, Betty, Mary Jo, Delores, Nancy, Wanda and where is Jane? That's a picture of her purse......

Here's Jane...the pretty lady on the bottom left.....

Brooklyn Bridge...
Chinatown...Later, we went back to shop, eat ice cream .......

After lunch we returned to our bus and expert driver, Dexter, to begin our interesting tour of Lower Manhattan..............to be continued.........

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving......


I have so much to be thankful for that I can't begin to enumerate all of my blessings...

I do wish you a wonderful day with your family and friends...

As we gather around our table and think of good times and good friends, I'll be thinking of my 'blogging family' also...

God Bless...Betty

Friday, October 30, 2009

The Cab Driver....Compassion at its finest......

This email has been around more than once, but such a lesson is taught.....Betty
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I arrived at the address where someone had requested a taxi. I honked but
> no one came out. I honked again, nothing. So I walked to the door and
> knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear
> something being dragged across the floor.
> After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood
> before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil
> pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.
>
> By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one
> had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets..
>
> There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the
> counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and
> glassware.
>
> 'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to
> the cab, and then returned to assist the woman.
>
> She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
>
> She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just
> try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.'

> 'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab, she gave
> me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'
>
> 'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.
> 'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a
> hospice'.
>
> I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have
> any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.'
> I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
>
> 'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.
>
> For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the
> building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
>
> We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when
> they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse
> that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
>
> Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner
> and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
>
> As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm
> tired. Let's go now'
>
> We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low
> building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed
> under a portico.
>
> Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were
> solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been
> expecting her.
>
> I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was
> already seated in a wheelchair.
>
> 'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse.
> 'Nothing,' I said
>
> 'You have to make a living,' she answered.
>
> 'There are other passengers,' I responded.
>
> Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me
> tightly.
>
> 'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.
>
> 'Thank you.'
>
> I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind
> me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.
> I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in
> thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman
> had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?
> What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven
> away?
> On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important
> in my life.
> We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
> But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what
> others may consider a small one.
>
>
> PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT THEY
> WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.


> Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as
> well dance.

> IN GOD WE TRUST---

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Happy Fall....Ya'll..........



Welcome to our home....fall is in the air and that makes me want to bring out the harvest decorations....the tractors are humming and the farmers are gathering the crops......


Mr. Scarecrow keeps an eye on the front porch......
The flag is very colorful.....
A bale of cotton, gourds, pumpkins...................
Colorful mums.....
If it stands still I'll tie a bow on it....

The window box in front of the den looks pretty outside as well as inside......

A swag of leaves and pomegranates with a raffia bow.....
The planters on the back porch have a fall touch.....

A scarecrow girl from a thrift store...a dollar.....
The window box on the kitchen window.....
Do you see the brown lizard behind the red bird house?
An old rustic birdhouse with iron bird and bunny....
Mr. Bunny stood still and got one tied on...why is this underlined and in blue?
A cornucopia and a turkey gourd.....
A ceramic cornucopia.....
A wicker cornucopia.....

I laugh everytime I walk by this turkey with her little head and tail...a gift from my friend Jackie...
These dishes are some of my very favorites...they look so 'fallish'....


A large arrangement of mums on the piano....A stuffed pheasant peeking out....
And last of all one of my favorite fall pitchers....

When I was a little, scrawny girl my grandparents lived a few blocks from the elementary school. I walked to their home for lunch one fall day. My Grandfather was a wonderful gardener and had a pumpkin patch. He offered me one and of course I chose the largest one. I started back to school carrying my gold cargo....I'd walk a little ways and sit down on my pumpkin....continued doing this all the way....finally I made it to my class room. We carved a Jack-O-Lantern and I was a happy camper. Do you have a pumpkin story?

Thanks for taking the time to visit with me...wishing you God's richest blessings.....