My Meandering Mind

Just a few random things on my mind...

While driving in a semi rural/forested landscape recently, I realized something.  Although there are a lot of things wrong in the world, there is something that continues to live and thrive!  Chlorophyll!  Yay for chlorophyll all around me!!!

Speaking of that, what do you get when you cross Cloris Leachman with Dr. Phil?  Duh...!  CHLOROPHYLL!!!

Ahem.

On to another deep subject.  I live in a little place called Sharpsville.  Would you like to know where the name came from?  Why is Sharpsville named 'Sharpsville'?  DRUMROLL...

Because no one would choose to live in a town called 'Dullsville'.

http://instantrimshot.com/ (Be sure to click the big red button!)

^^^Was that cool or what???^^^

Why didn't the chicken cross the road?

Silly, because when he pressed this button:

 

He only saw this signal:

No matter how long he waited, he never got a signal with a chicken crossing on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-KpcrSsZeQ&list=PL43BC481C0D1458AE&index=8

No need for applause, just throw money!

Until next time...HUGSxxxAnnie

July-isms

July reminds us that summer runs away at breakneck pace, whether we approve or not.

July is wiping fresh fruit juice from chins, while munching on garden grown sweetness.

July smells like just mown lawns, salty sea air, and grilled hamburgers.

The seventh month tastes like beefsteak tomatoes, ice cream cones, hot dogs, and corn on the cob.

The lush vegetation of July embraces us with the gentlest of hugs; it provides temporary amnesia--dulling us to the bleak memory of winter.

The mid summer month sounds like grass trimmers, humming fans, and birds, singing and conversing.

July rain is sweet and refreshing, a welcome relief from the broiling sun.

July nights are crisp cotton sheets with an open window.

My Favorite Place

Can you guess where my favorite place is?

Is it here? 

 

Nope.

 

What about...here...?

 

 

 

Nope.  (ONE of my favorite places, for sure, though!)

 

How about this?

 

 

Well, I can't lie and say I wouldn't want to be there, but it's still not my favorite place on Earth...

 

Okay, these?

 

 

 

 

 

 

...As wonderful as all these places are...no...none are my favorite place.

 

The list goes on and on.  Niagara Falls?  A starlit night on an ocean cruise?  The deep South?  The Great Plains?  The Rocky Mountains?

 

No.

 

My favorite place is a three minute walk from my house. 

 

 

This is my favorite place.  It is where my Lord resides.

 

Jesus is so good.

 

XXXOOO Annie

 

 

Frigid

Low temperatures this month have broken long standing records.  I've never seen such a cold winter in my life. 

Today the weather is so dangerously bitter that school has been cancelled, including college campuses. 

A phenomenon called 'snow rollers' has been occurring the past day or so.  Several of my Facebook friends have posted photos of these formations on their walls.  They look a bit like a giant white Hostess Ho Ho.

I've been periodically checking my yard to see if any have formed, but so far I have not seen any.

I am grateful to have a warm home.  The furnace has been running non stop for weeks.  I don't think it shuts off at all, and my skin is suffering for it.  Several times a day, I slather myself with cocoa butter or Udderly Smooth moisturizer.  I'm wearing out my tube of lip balm.  Still, just call me Mojave Mama or Sahara Sister!!!

On another note, I have been feeling a little down this week.  It's not related to the weather, but rather, it's all the things in my life that seem to be falling apart.

There are innumerable knots to be undone, and as I tackle one at a time, it's as if some unseen force is creating more knots.  It's kind of like trying to hold water in a sieve. 

When these things get me down, I find myself feeling way down.  It's a terrible feeling.

I know it will pass; the knots will still be there, but these despairing temptations will lessen.  I only know that because I've been down this road before.

Sometimes I see myself as this very broken person--like a cracked mirror.  There is just no way to fix me.  And yet, I realize that we are all in the same boat,  not cracked in all the same ways, but still--broken.

The weight of my misery is crushing.  What have I ever done in my life right?  Who haven't I harmed? 

But...still...a whisper comes from within...you must forge ahead...pick yourself up...try...forgive yourself...hope...trust...

Thank God for His grace.  When everything seems so twisted and ruined, He takes it all and turns it into a masterpiece of love. 

I'm so thankful for HIM.

Stay warm, my readers.  Stay safe.  God bless you.

HUGSxxxAnnie

Edinboro

I left my heart in...(San Francisco?)...no...Edinboro, Pennsylvania.

Yesterday afternoon, John, Therese, and I took the familiar Sunday trek to that little frozen tundra near the border of Erie to return Maria to her home away from home.

Just a short few months ago, the drive and surroundings were new to us.  Now, it has become comfortable, although the tweak of sadness always accompanies the trip.  

Those lingering hugs between mother and daughter, then between sister and sister, then between father and daughter always results in a thick lump in my throat.  As we watched her walk away, such a wisp of a girl, tiny and fragile looking, I was determined to keep the tears from falling.

I am too sentimental for my own good. 

Maria is doing so well in her new world.  I am happy about that!  I want her to fly--no--SOAR!  There's nothing sadder than an adult who never really learns to live a full life.  My hope for each of my kids is that they will come to see what gifts they have and how to use them to make the world better. 

HUGSxxxAnnie

Moon over My Annie

 

 

I am more sentimental than Granny's Bone China.

 

Here are a few images from my morning...

 

And this...

 

 

And these...tee hee...

 

 

That moon was the loveliest thing I've seen in awhile.  It felt like God set it there just for my delight.

 

 

My  Heavenly Daddy said, "I think I'll suspend the moon over Annie's neighborhood, so full and round, a jolly smiling 'face', just to remind her that I am here and that I love her.". 

 

 ...That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!...

 

These young people like up my morning, too, very much like Mr. Moon--

 

 

 

Every morning, we say a prayer called the morning offering.  Therese has been feigning annoyance with me lately when I imitate the current tween/teen slang. 

 

I began our prayer, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  We rounded the corner.  I continued. "Oh My Jesus...  OH, Jesus is TOTES ADORBS!!!" 

 

A huge objection came from the back seat...  And a snort of laughter from the passenger seat ...

 

HUGSxxxAnnie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Egg Salad

This past week, Therese turned twelve.  Her birthday meal request  was simple--egg salad sandwiches. 

Why do we fuss so much when it doesn't have to take fancy meals and expensive things to make us happy?  I think that's the cool thing about children; they remind us that joy comes from the simplest things.

 

 

Some things I love: 

 

rain

 

peanut butter

 

bare feet

 

smiling eyes

 

babies

 

kiwis

 

lilacs

 

laughter

& laughing to the point of crying

 

potatoes

 

the smell of coffee

 

What are some things you treasure, the simple and uncomplicated things?  What is the egg salad in your life?

 

 

 

HUGSxxx Annie