There's Snow Valentine, Like My Valentine

"The heart must have its time of snow . . . to rest in silence, and then to grow." ~ unknown

Even snowmen have hearts....and need a little Valentine before they melt away.

i carry your heart with me
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
~ e.e. cummings (American poet 1894-1962)

A funny little snowman wrapped in a warm red muffler, with button eyes and mouth and a long orange carrot nose and green pipe. On his coat we see a row of coal buttons. And there on his chest... a heart... a red heart.. ready for Valentine's Day.

My Valentine is my daughter Nyssa... and the poem is for her... for I truly carry her heart... I carry it in my heart... ALWAYS!

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Christmas Eggs

Hand blown and painted egg ornaments from Salzburg, Austria...

"“The present was an egg laid by the past that had the future inside its shell.” ~ Zora Neale Hurston

Believe it or not, these egg ornaments are seeing their tenth Christmas on our tree. The past three years they have graced what I call our "international tree" with ornaments that we have gathered in our travels. In the summer of 2000, Nyssa and I visited my brother who was engaged as the house tenor in Linz, Austria. While we were there we took several side trips by train, one to Salzburg that has been made most famous by The Sound of Music, although it is also the birthplace of Mozart. The streets of the town are narrow and were crowed with tourists that day. We happened upon this shop with thousands of intricately painted eggs in the window. While some were painted for Easter and some with simple flowers of Austria and animals and all sorts of other decorations, most were painted with Christmas themes. All of them are hand blown real eggs... chicken, goose.. I even saw several ostrich eggs. I remember one painted like a jester face with a satin hat and ruffled collar of royal purple and emerald green and with attached feathers to match. I looked through my prints from that trip (before digital camera) and wouldn't you know it.. I have NO pictures from inside the store.

Well, I had to at least try to bring some of these home. In 2000, the euro/dollar ratio was in favor of the dollar so the prices were not bad. I picked out two and a half dozen and they packed them carefully in egg cartons, yes, real old fashioned egg cartons.. paper, not plastic or styrofoam. I gingerly carried them back to Linz on the train and then back to the states on the airplane. I am not sure this would even be possible to do these days. Only one broke completely and a few others cracked but are still useable on the tree. And they have lasted over the years. I again carefully hung them on our tree just last week... for the tenth time. My only regret is that I did not try to bring back more... they are so beautiful and unique.

More egg ornaments from The Christmas Shop in Salzburg, Austria.

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We Give Thanks

In the midst of our harried lives, a time to pause, reflect and give thanks.

Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Life, like the weather is unpredictable. The absurdity of that statement in light of our world's and our country's current circumstances is not lost on me at all, but sometimes the obvious just has to be put out there in black and white. We would like to think we are in control, but the reality is.. we're not. So, today I will stop, as I should every day, and give thanks, not only for the many blessings I enjoy daily but that God has everything in His control.

To all, have a blessed day of giving thanks.

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Halloween Recap (Yes, I Know It's A New Year)

Everyone wants to get into the Halloween spirit....

"Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story." ~ Mason Coole

Daisy helped me hand out the Halloween candy this year and of course she needed a costume. Walmart had a cute ladybug stretchy one... but it was a tad too small. She has filled out since moving in with us and by October, her hair had grown as well and she was a soft, cuddly, sweet buff girl with platinum blonde bangs and two platinum curls at the tip of her stubby tail. So we had to come up with something else. The "hot dog" costume had mustard on it and she prefers mayonnaise and chili... and the witch, vampire and skeleton were too scary for her delicate sensibilities. Daisy didn't look like a cheerleader or a clown, so what to do...?

At least Daisy did... now, the cats? Not so much.

I designed her this wonderful accessory.... a wrist watch or rather a tummy watch in her case. Of course, she had to have a beautiful watch with a bejeweled band and a colorful neck ruffle as well. To our amazement, Daisy not only tolerated her costume, she seemed to love strutting around the house with it on and posed for many, many pictures.

Little "watch dog" is on the job!

We didn't have a large number of kids, but she greeted each one with a tail wag and a smile. Quite a few parents took pictures of their kids with her and she graciously posed for single shots as well. All night she sat quietly by my chair on the front porch waiting for the next group of kids and hoping for a treat..... no, Daisy, no chocolate for you!

Taking time to smell the mums....

Daisy loved the bright mums we had for fall decorations. Last year we got the dark purple mums, this year I went for the orange-gold variety. After they died off I cut them back and planted the rootball in the flower bed. This year they came back even fuller than last and I will be doing the same thing with these beauties in a few days.

..... and just goofing off!

All in all it was a great day and evening... not too hot and not too cool, with a nice breeze. Daisy couldn't help goofing off a bit. "Look Ma! My collar converts into a great sun bonnet!"

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Christmas At Catalina Court.... Come On In!

Christmas on Catalina Court
(Click pictures for larger view)

"God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the radiance of Christmas, which is purity; the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas, which is Christ." ~ Wilda English

Christmas Day is here, our first on Catalina Court. We combined households, furniture and Christmas decorations this year. Though we still have much to put away and things put away that we cannot find, we found our Christmas decorations and did our best to make it magical.....Come on inside!

"Come on in!"

Together we have three larger trees. One was placed in the dining room, one in the den and the smallest in the foyer. The tree in the dining room is primarily covered with ornaments my parents have collected through the years and the one in the den with mine. Our thin tree in the foyer has been designated our "Austrian tree" and here we have ornaments from Salzburg and other parts of Austria. Delicate hay and wood shaving ornaments mix with fragile, hand painted eggs and small painted glass hearts and thin glass teardrops. Some of the eggs did not weather the move that well, with small cracks and pieces of shell missing, but most are intact.

Our "Austrian" tree.

I also put a very small 3ft tree on Nyssa's dresser, a large ceramic tree in the master bedroom sitting area and a small white ceramic tree in my room. We have five nativity sets in various places, garland on the winding staircase, the stockings hung by the fireplace with care and the cat stockings hung from the upstairs. We have baked gingerbread cookies, sand tarts, chocolate chip cookies... OH YES!!... I have made 21...yes, 21 potica breads over the last two weeks. Ours is ready to cut for breakfast.

Our dining room tree.

Oh, look! It is after midnight and I must take my aching knees and hands to bed...but before I go, let me wish you all a joyous and peaceful Christmas. As we spend time with family and feel the excitement of exchanging gifts, let us remember the greatest gift ever given .... the Christ Child... Immanuel... God with us.

May you have a blessed Christmas!

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And The Rockets Red Glare......

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." ~ Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809) "The American Crisis, no. 4, September 12, 1777"

"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" ~ Patrick Henry (1736 - 1799)

""Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large." ~ George Washington (1732 - 1799) Following His Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789

"Freedom is not the right to do what we want, but what we ought. Let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith let us; to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." ~ Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

I hope everyone has a happy 4th of July with friends and family. May your hot dogs be tasty and your watermelon cold; and may you spend a few minutes reflecting on our blessings of freedom as well as our responsibilities to preserve them.

These pictures were taken at an impromptu fireworks display by my cousin. I hand held the camera and followed the rockets before snapping the shutter, so the quality isn't as good as with a tripod. Still the company was great and the rockets noisy.

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Easter Dogwood

Flowering dogwood. Cornus florida, 'Cherokee Brave var.'
(Click picture for larger view)

The Legend of the Dogwood
At the time of Christ's crucifixion, the dogwood tree was as tall as the oak and other forest trees. Its wood was so strong and firm that it was chosen for the cross. The tree was very distressed to be used for such a purpose and Jesus understood. He told the tree, "Because of your regret and pity for my suffering, I promise this: never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used for a cross. Henceforth it shall be slender and bent and twisted, and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross. And in the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints. And in the center of the flower, brown with rust and stained with blood, will be a crown of thorns – so that all who see it will remember it was upon a dogwood tree that I was crucified, and this tree shall not be mutilated nor destroyed, but cherished and protected as a reminder of my agony and death upon the cross."
~ Author Unknown

Easter in Mississippi (and Virginia for that matter) means tulip trees, azalea blooms in rose, red and white, wisteria, forsythia and of course the dogwood. The tree grows wild and some homes are graced with five or six having pink or white blossoms. These are glorious in full bloom! This picture is of a small pink dogwood in our neighbor's yard, although it is the darkest pink I have ever seen. In fact the petals are almost red; it really speaks to me of the Easter season.

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "Easter". (end of post)