Merry Christmas from our cats

We came home to an ornament and the star (that was the tree topper) on the ground. If walls could talk. Lol

We are trying to figure out if the cats climbed all the way up the tree to get the Star down or did they violently attack and shake the tree. Seems like they had a lot of fun....we were going to put the cats in another room while we left but we totally forgot.

I just noticed the beaded garland is now dangling, the ornaments are crooked, the ornaments that were in the front are all too the right and there's some spaces where the cats must have jumped in again. All the lower half of the tree looks weighed down as though the cats layed down.... and if a tree could look discombobulated ours is. Lol yet it still makes me laugh. 

( we did not decorate most of the lower half because we knew they would take them off... thankfully I layed rocks on the tree stand and covered it with a box so the tree didn't topple over. Yet Rocky tore one side of the wrapping paper off. So I decorated with more and added books and a huge Bible to add to the side so our cat isn't tempted to rip the paper. Lol

Maybe we should get a real tree and put it in our house so the cats can enjoy it all year long. Lol

Next year maybe we'll lock the Christmas tree in a cage to display it Lol... these are memories that will last a lifetime. Too hilarious.

memories of Grandma Muriel

This was made for my family from my Grandma "Gran" Muriel in Christmas 1985. My mom passed it to me years ago. Gran wrote on the back of it but it was deteriorating.

 I tried to save it by putting the paper in a baggie. 😃 I loved her accent. She was born in England and would always make me laugh. (My mom was born in the USA yet she had siblings who were born in England as well).

Gran passed away when I was in my early 20s in 1993, yet I still remember her sense of humor, the smell of roast she cooked, and her dark apt. She didn't turn on many lights. She was great at crossword puzzles and liked to paint too. I remember her painting of a bird on her wall. And she had a dog named Whiskey. Lol.. I can't remember too much about Grandpa Norman, he died when I was around 11 years old. I just remember his Pachinco machine.

our 3rd year anniversary

My hubby and I had a wonderful time on our 3rd year Anniversary trip.

We spent quality time together, enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery which was breathtaking. 

We saw someone had a pet goat on a leash by our lodge. Also one night 30 bats flew over our heads one by one while we were enjoying chatting, sitting on a bench at night. It was exciting yet creepy at the same time .

When we went shopping at Stater Brothers, the electricity was out because someone hit a pole down the street,  we happened to pass by that area where the accident was.  That was the first time I shopped in mostly the dark. They had a generator that turned on a little bit of dimmed lights.yet it was still funny. Everyone used their phones flashlights.   Yet if It happened where i live,  those stores would have closed the store and told everyone to go home. 

Apparently they have an annual Labor day weekend yardsales through out that city. We went to tons of yardsales.  Even the thrift stores had half off on some of them.  We love to go to thrift stores and find good deals.  The cool thing was we found a lot of neat stuff that would have been expensive in the regular stores. We even found an antique clock for $8 when it was actually worth 70.  Both my hubby and i love to go thrifting. So we had lots of fun. 

 it was a memorable funny and fun loving time.we also ate out too much. There were times for dinner we stayed in our lodge and ate regular food in our room.  It was a challenge to find foods at restuarants that I could eat.

I have been recuperating for the past 3 days and trying to get back on track.  I have been sleeping a lot. Yet the trip was so worth it to have time with my hubby and I. Just the 2 of us was what we needed.  

The weather was perfect in the mountains at an average of 84 degrees. (it was around 105 degrees where we live and 109 where my hubby worked so we were grateful to get out of the heat). 

 The tap water was so pure tasting.  It didn't have a bitter taste nor did it taste like chlorine. I was amazed. 

The air even seemed cleaner.  I felt like I could breathe freely. The nature including the trees was beautiful. The funny thing was every time we drove on 2 certain streets, my eyes started tearing up.  I don't know if there were particular trees or an allergy that I had,  but it was funny, too me.  We drove on those streets every day we were there and each time,  my eyes got watery. Lol

There was another funny moment when we were looking for a street,  we took a wrong turn and turned around in someone's drive way. Then the next day we were following gps again and we took a wrong turn and somehow ended up in the same drive way. So crazy since it was at 2 different destinations.  Lol

The locals were friendly.  We had several conversations with people who lived up in the mountains. 

I was hoping to see many critters on the ground.  I did see a pretty brown squirrel with a white chest and neck and looked like a white stripe of fur around his torso.  

There were so many trees.  Such breathtaking views. Oh and there was a lake yet it was not as big as it used to be. There were cute cabins  everywhere.

We will definetly go back.  

Oops I wrote a book.  Lol

Bread for your thoughts

We bought a bread maker for $5 at a yard sale. 

We have been wanting a bread maker. They are pricey so I figured what do we have to lose for $5. 

I used it for the first time last night.  I wasn't quite sure if i was making it right because it didn't come with a manual. I looked up recipes online and bought all the ingredients to make the bread. I followed the recipe and pushed start.  We jumped a couple times because it goes silent and then makes noises and even beeps suddenly.  We enjoyed watching the motions through its window to see how it works. It amazed me how good it works. ( I know this isn't a new thing for all you foodies out there, but it's newer to me. )

 

By the time it was done,  3 1/2 hours later, Tim was asleep.  I asked if he wanted to try it since it was my first batch and I was going to make him a sandwich for work with this new bread.  He mumbled that he trusted me. 

But i wasn't sure since it was my first batch.  So I cut the heel off and took some fluff from the center of it.  It was so yummy, fluffy and warm.  I ate the whole slice.  Lol I usually hate eating the heel but wow this was so different. I put butter on it and oh so yummy.  I was even dipping the bread in the almost gone butter. Thankfully we have another container of butter   That huge slice was all gone.  

It was not gluten free and I have sensitivies to gluten so I took some extra meds so i wouldn't have stomach trouble.  Lol...ok i better buy me some gluten free bread flour because this will be too tempting. Lol

It came out so good and it was only my first batch.

I also air fryed meatballs in the new air fryer oven we bought.  I love the crispy outside crust.  And earlier I baked cookies in the air fryer oven.  I was just trying different things last night.  It all came out good. Yum

just for thought

Can flies smell? 

Is there plastic in heaven? 

Is there building supplies in hell? 

When does a worm know when he's reached his destination? 

Since God rested on the 7th day of creation, will we rest in heaven at all? 

Does it rain in heaven? 

Does a snail have a nose? 

Can you smell the inside of your nose? 

Can you taste your tongue? 

Can you taste a snowflake? 

Is there a snowflake that has always existed?

How long is eternity? 

What's the beginning of eternity?

How old is the oldest angel? 

How young is the youngest angel?

Do they ever age?

Has there been angels that were created recently? 

Some people in the world seem to choose what beauty looks like yet who does God say is the most beautiful person in the world?

Our earthly bodies are so intricate. Will our heavenly bodies be intricate too? 

Just for thought

Me with Covid

Today is July 5, I'm on my 13th day of covid symptoms. Can't seem to get rid of the cough, congestion and low energy. I can't wait to go back to grocery stores or my friend's homes,  etc...

Well at least I have more energy than I initially had. The first week of my covid symptoms, I felt like I had a strep throat, sinus infection, allergy attack, flu, migraine, tmj jaw flare up, bad cold, and fibromyalgia flare up all rolled up into one sickness.  

There were days where I had to lay down on couch and only could sit up for 15 minutes at a time.

My highest recorded fever was 102.6 degrees.  And the body aches were horrendous. So glad they were only there a couple days.  The sore throat burned horribly. And the strange, different kind of headache, jaw pain,  and swollen glands, were no joke. The weird thing was when I thought the covid was getting better,  I would get new symptoms like nausea, stomach pains, and bitter taste in my mouth to not being able to taste certain foods. It was weird.  Thankfully those were short lived.
The blessing in disguise was that my hubby had covid at the same time so we weren't alone through the covid experience.  Plus we didn't have to wear masks around each other which probably would have been harder to deal with.
I'm thanking God that the covid isn't as bad as it could have been and thankful for God helping us through this. 
Also grateful we have hand sanitizer, lysol wipes and lysol in every room.

Thankful for friends and family that dropped off items we needed, and the neighbor who took our trash to the dumpster and watered our garden a few times.  Plus thankful for instacart that delivered our groceries a few times.  So grateful for all of these.

Looking forward to being over this covid soon and getting back to "my normal self " 

The Rainbow of Love

 🌈 I have always loved the rainbow. It's beautiful colors of purple, blue, green, orange, yellow and red.  

🌈 It always puts a smile on my face and peace in my heart.

  🌈 I remember over 40 years ago when I was in children's church they would teach that God made a promise to man. God would not destroy the earth with a flood again so he sent a rainbow 🌈 as a reminder to us of his promise. He sent these beautiful colors in the sky that are so breathtaking and are a creation by God himself.

🌈 Sometimes we need reminders of God and his love for us. Every time you see a rainbow, may you be reminded of God and his love for you. 

🌈  Genesis 9:8-17 🌈

New International Version

"Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:  'I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth.  I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.'"

"And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.'”

"So God said to Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.'”

Incident with UBER DRIVER. (Safety is the key)

Two weeks ago I took an uber on the way back from an appointment. I always check the license plate and the person to see if they match the uber app. On this day,  the car matched but the license plate didn't. When I saw the Uber driver pull up,  I stood away from the car.  After I questioned him about the plate,  he rudely said,  "it doesn't matter" and started yelling at me to get in the car. Well actually it does matter.  Their policy is to match the driver with their correct profile 

I didn't feel safe with him so I told him I'm not going into his car.  That made him even more irritated and started yelling continually.  I stepped away, got his license plate number and reported him to UBER. Then I called another uber driver. The Uber safety personnel said I did the right thing by not getting in the car and they made sure I was ok. They said they would take actions against him. That was just horrible. I'm so glad I didn't get in the car with him. I don't even want to think about what could have happened if I got in his car.

If you catch a ride with Uber, Lyft or even a taxi,  make sure the information matches what is on their App or what they tell you over the phone.  SAFETY IS THE KEY.  Always check the license plate and the picture of the person driving to see if it matches the app. Is the car the same one on the app too?  I know this takes longer but it's for your own safety. If you don't feel safe,  don't go in the vehicle. Use your intuition.  It is good to go back inside the store or where there is other people. If needed, grab another ride by using the app or call a close friend or family member.  When you are in a safe place,  Make sure to report the incident to the safety issue by calling their customer service or call 911, if in immediate danger. 

it's been a crazy couple of months

My hubby and I have had some crazy months.
On April 1 we noticed a small flood In our bedroom carpet when we woke up. Turned out to be a water leak in the water heater. We had water damage in main bedroom, bathroom,  and water heater closet.
We slept in the living room for a week waiting for home insurance to do their thing but that was hard on the back so we, with our 2 cats, were finally  approved to stay at a hotel until the repairs were done. I packed thinking it may be 3-4 weeks. I was in contact with home insurance,  plus their claim adjuster, then the home warranty, and a company that tested for lead and asbestos (since our mobile home was built in the 60s). That came back negative thankfully.
Then there's the field adjuster, and the company that dries out the flooring and takes it all out. There's another company that replaced the water heater, and then the contractor team that worked on repairing and rebuilding the home. Then there's the company that we had to be in contact with that provides the hotel stay that the claim adjuster approves, plus the hotel person. 10 people I had to be in contact with on a regular basis. It was alot of stress and frustration; we couldn't get things done because they wouldn't  approve things until each company had information from the other companies findings of our mobile home . ... but then the right hand didn't seem to know what the left hand was doing. So instead of them communicating,  I had to be  in constant communication to get things done daily.

And half the time, the insurance wouldn't return my calls, texts or emails. Then their phone was down for 4 days.  So I had to be persistent and not give up to get approved what we needed. It finally paid off and we got the needed money from insurance  to get it all done. 

Even though the water intrusion and other factors took a toll on me physically and mentally,  my Honey and I agree it was a blessing from God.   I've learned that sometimes you have to work hard even when things are a blessing.

Now we have a brand new bathroom with new tub, shower doors, walls,  built in cabinets, vanity, sink etc... which we love.  Plus new subflooring, flooring in the bedroom and bathroom, etc.. And new flooring in hallway.

I was secluded a lot at the hotel during the day because my Honey had to work and I didn't know anyone. I'm used to visiting my neighbors.  Yet I was able to do things like memorizing scriptures and I had previously started reading each verse in the Bible.  So many times I started but never finished. So I got my mom's Bible out that was hers that she gave me years ago and read each verse.  When I was done with each Book of the Bible I put a check mark on that Book until I read each and every book in the Bible  And I finally finished it at the hotel. I started years ago  because I wasn't consistent but I finally did it because I had nothing to distract me!!!  It was nice to finally say that I've read every verse in the Bible. Although it won't stop me from reading and studying more of the Bible. I did work on other projects too. There were times I would take a walk around the hotels in the area and focus on Jesus and take a deep breath and look at all the creation around me.  God's breathtaking mountains and variety of beautiful flowers.  

I also tried to go out of my way to say hi to people and got to know the personnel at the front desk.  I met a guest with her beautiful dog that came out to this city to place her dog in a dog show. I also met and saw a lot of people who came from other states who were on business trips. Hey I even tried a veggie burger in the Free burgers night. No I didn't care for it.  Lol.
My husband and I also encountered an alligator lizard that came into the hotel door we were about to go out of.  I about jumped out of my skin.  Lol.
While at hotel,  we had my hubby's birthday, my  birthday,  a couple family members birthdays,  Easter, Mother's Day, and our nephew's graduation, etc...For Memorial day,  we visited our home and worked on our garden which was fun and relaxing..  

Several days my Honey was sick but he received much needed rest.  Then a bunch of my health problems were aggravated and inflamed including 8 days of migraine like headaches. It felt like my body was in a war for 30 days.  No fun.  I knew it started from being stressed.

For each holiday,  I tried to make it fun.  I hid hotwheels and an Easter basket around the hotel room so my Hubby had to find them. Note: he collects hot wheels.   For my birthday, we couldn't go out because he was sick so we ordered my favorite,  Chinese food from Door Dash.   For his birthday I decorated the hotel room with steamers but had to take them down soon after because the cats were attacking them.  Lol We enjoyed celebrating his birthday. 

 I was so grateful that we had a small kitchenette with a full size fridge.  We did have to invent ways to cook meals because of the 2 small burners. And boy oh boy did I love the dishwasher.... but there is nothing like home sweet home.  We love being home and even we can tell our cats Rocky and Adrian are excited to be home.  My hubby and I can go back to our garden any time we want... which we did start pruning our plants at 10 pm the other night.  And I took down our Easter decorations I had up and  we put out 4th of July decor. It's so good to be home. I wake up every morning and here the birds chirping outside. It is so beautiful. We are glad to be home and thank Jesus for helping us through this ordeal.  Now we get to enjoy our place with new improvements. The cool thing is that the things we were going to eventually change in our bathroom we don't have to now.  The contractors did the hard work for us. 

It's funny that our wooden block calendar still has the day of April 8th. That was the day we moved into the hotel.. That's 76 days of craziness, although 69 of them were at the hotel. 

Be Clean

I have read the scripture many times about the lady who went into a home and washed Jesus' feet with her hair and tears. Also she poured her perfume on him. I just thought of something. 

 After she washed his feet she probably had a lot of dirt and dust in her hair because in those days, they most likely wore sandals. She took on the dirt of Jesus' feet.  

It made me think of Jesus. When He died on the cross, he took on the dirt and filth, the sins of all of us. It was like it was all over him, spiritually... billions of people's sins all over him.  Yet when he rose from the grave,  he was cleansed.... our sin and filth is gone. 

Jesus did this for us...

Reference Luke 7:36-50

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