Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

An article I was skimming recently contained a fascinating Harvard study that lasted eight decades..until the participants were well into old age…

It tracked 200 men for 80 years and, based on their findings, concluded  that what matters most in living a happy life is…“our relationships.”

“Friendships where we have deep bonds and can show up as we are, seem essential to making it through life. It’s not about the number of friends, in fact, Aristotle would say, “He who hath many friends hath none,” but about the quality of the relationships.” –Guri

It appears that friendships are more sustainable and  persevering than even more intimate relationships like spouses and boyfriends, girl friends, etc. I have never thought of it in  this way but the following quote makes us stop and pause…

“FRIENDSHIP MARKS A LIFE EVEN MORE DEEPLY THAN LOVE. LOVE RISKS DEGENERATING INTO OBSESSION, FRIENDSHIP IS NEVER ANYTHING BUT SHARING.” –ELIE WIESEL

Of course, in the best marriages and long-term relationships …if your spouse IS your best friend…you have a ‘double-click’ chance of  a life of happiness and fulfillment!

At some point in life…don’t we all reach a benchmark when we fall back on earlier friendships that meant so much to us at one time…we seek a history with friends who knew us when. These are the most powerful friendships….based on longevity.

There was another bestseller that took the world by storm…anybody remember THE SHACK? It was published in 2007…Can you believe it has been thirteen years since that book came out?

There were two coinciding themes in the popular “read”- In a nutshell…forgiveness and the idea that life is all about  relationships is the ultimate secret to understanding our roles on earth. Popular quotes from this book are:

“Life takes a bit of time and a lot of relationship.” 
― Wm. Paul Young, The Shack

“Each relationship between two persons is absolutely unique. That is why you cannot love two people the same. It simply is not possible. You love each person differently because of who they are and the uniqueness that they draw out of you.” 

There is no doubt that without the technical communication that exists today…a lot of people would probably be in trouble…having no one to text or email or phone to hear their voice or see on Face time. If the pandemic had happened a decade ago…we would really be suffering more from loneliness and isolation than we are now.

As we get older we come to realize that the seeds of friendship we planted in our earlier years are still blooming…and more beautiful now than ever before. The only thing missing is touch….the day when we can hug again should become  World Hug Day...I can’t wait to be there.

So until tomorrow…we can only dream of “The places we’ll go” unless we stop and follow the rhythm of the heart or spread out our journey until we meet our soul waiting to greet us with “Where have you been all my life? So glad you made it. Welcome home!” 

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

*Harriett also left this mini-shell vase with the “pink sisters” working together to advance research on “little c” ….

And now Welcome to the latest beauty blooms…..

My hanging hydrangeas basket…love the delicate blooms!

*Another day…another Edwards gal stopped by…this time it was Gin-g with two brownies…I love brownies! Chocked full of walnuts…delicious!!!

Thanks Gin-g! Gin-g is also the “queen” of sending snail mail. The card that accompanied the brownies was beyond nice…a day lifter! 🙂

Happy World Emoji Day….as Gin-g shared with me when she stopped by….hearts and prayers are her “go to” emojis. The more I thought about it…the more it seemed to fit. People do use hearts more than any other emoji and pressed hands can be a greeting or a thank you in Japan….and a prayer elsewhere.

***But isn’t it fitting, during these trying times, that we can still take heart and pause to pray…ending with a “thank you” of gratitude to God for being there with us?

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I was watching a cooking show and the instructors announced that it was World Emoji Day...(Actually the show must have been taped early and then shown early because World Emoji Day is tomorrow…Friday, July 17!)

However, since ChapelofHopeStories.com is always on the “cutting edge” of all things that come under the category of  “technology” (I hope you are picking up on my sarcastic wit :)} I decided to push it up a day early myself.

I wanted to find out who was responsible for putting emotions and faces and objects in texts, emails, Facebook…and all other technical communication devices.

It actually started because one young Japanese man realized that the technical gadgets for communication in the 1990’s didn’t have a place for emotions…and that is extremely important in communication.

(Weren’t we just talking about that with our “snail mail” post earlier this week?)

So what about emojis, the little pictures that make texting so fun? Those were created in 1998 by Shigetaka Kurita, an engineer at the Japanese phone company, NTT Docomo.

He was working on a way for customers to communicate through icons. The result was a set of 176 icons he called emoji. The name combines two Japanese words: “e” (picture) and “moji” (character). Kurita says that he drew inspiration for his emojis from manga, Chinese characters, and international signs for bathrooms.

In Japanese culture the written language is taken seriously and snail mail letters are long and worthy of one’s hat box…filled with wisdom, respect and honor of  loved ones in the family.

He soon realized that digital communication—whether it’s email or, at the time, pagers—robbed human beings of the ability to communicate emotion.

*“In Japan this is particularly important, as snail-mail letters have a tradition of being long-winded, full of honorifics, and emotional messages of goodwill. With digital, you ended up robbing people of this more personal aspect of communication, resulting in a relationship breakdown and miscommunication, that Kurita wanted to fix.”

Now, more than 1,800 emojis exist. Americans especially love using them. The best part? We don’t need to tilt our heads sideways to understand them like the old emoticons.

*Going back to the cooking show…the chefs, yesterday, made sugar cookies and cakes honoring this special day.

The cooking show had asked viewers to send in their favorite emojis and was sharing them with the audience. I started thinking what my favorite was and also…which one I have used the most frequently lately. Here is my favorite… but also my most “go to” emoji.

I hardly ever sign off a text without the thumbs up sign and a “blow kisses”  emoji.

But more and more these days I find myself using the ‘shocked’ emoji when signing off from texts…because I simply can’t think of any thing to say…(a sign of the times)…The world seems to be shrinking, bringing us all physically closer together, while simultaneously growing…with problems galore…separating us all.

***How about you readers? Do you have a special emoji that you like to use a lot? Is there a story or reason behind your selection…I would love to hear back about a favorite you have- after all TOMORROW is World Emoji Day!

So until tomorrow…Let your emotions show….spread the love and celebrate life…even with all its puzzling problems!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday was Walsh’s last day of vacation…so the family had a boat outing…everyone had a terrific time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take care Walsh returning to work…Love, Mom

Last night I thought I heard something on the porch and I was right…My pink-ribbon friend and elf, Harriett Edwards, was putting some things on the white bench….(One gift, of which,  she wanted to share the story behind….

It is a beautiful candle surrounded with  broken shells…she and Susan Gaston saw one in a gift shop at Edisto with a hefty price on it…along with a symbolic message…They decided they could make their own for free. The idea of the candle with the broken shell fragments is that even when we struggle with obstacles like broken health, or broken relationships, or anything else life throws at us….the light of life still burns brightly. I love it.

Harriett and I are definitely pink ribbon “boxers” – we have gone so many rounds between us…I think surely we are in the Boxers Hall of Fame for longevity…even without ever getting a complete knock-out of our opponent-“little c.” We just keep showing up for the fight.

*Neither one of us is content with just being a “survivor“…whatever that means living with cancer…we won’t settle for anything else than being a “thriver“- living life to the fullest with all its beautiful mess.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart Harriett!  

Dear Reader:

Aren’t there just some scents that linger from our childhoods into our present-day lives… bringing such pleasurable memories with them?

One of the saddest side effects for some people, affected with COVID19, is the sudden loss of taste and smell. Unfortunately, for some, these two important senses haven’t returned and perhaps won’t ever return. (Doctors are still studying long-term effects on patients…but it takes a “long-term” to do this.)

I can relate… since years of chemo have done the same thing to me. Yet some times,  out of the blue, for just a few seconds… either my full taste buds reappear and/or my sense of smell. It is like a shot of adrenaline when these rare incidents occur…and it makes me so happy!

It never lasts long but that is why it is so special. One smell that I really miss in the summer is the smell of freshly cut-grass. Jeff came yesterday (along with his sweet son) to cut, weed-eat, and even fix some leaning fences for me…a jack of all trades.

After he left I slowly walked through the garden and when I got to Lachlan’s Japanese Maple tree..the sun’s rays hit it turning it into flames of beauty (title photo)… It was while I was standing there…that (for just a few seconds) I smelled that luscious scent of recently cut grass. It took me back down memory lane.

I remember chasing fireflies (lightning bugs) after a summer storm in the evenings or playing chase in a freshly cut neighbor’s yard and stopping to just breathe in the sweet scent of both “magical” scents….now imprinted in my memory.

Many years ago…when I was still doing workshops around the state…I was returning from doing one in Anderson and decided to take the back roads to my high school years stomping grounds…Laurens. (It is one of the best towns to get back on the interstate.)

One of those huge tractor mowers was cutting grass, in a pasture,  off the old Laurens Highway…it was early September…one of the last grass-cuttings for the season. My windows were down while I was breathing in rural South Carolina and loving it.

When I smelled that freshly cut grass scent…I decided to pull over, sit on the car, and just take the scenery in…scents and all. Even though most of the large cutting machines were in the back fields…one lone worker was pushing a lawn mower  to detail cut the grass along the fence rails.

As he got closer he tipped his hat and smiled….”You must love the scent of freshly cut grass as much as I do” he called out over the sounds of the mower. ‘

“I actually volunteer to do this job because I love cutting grass and smelling the results…one of my all-time favorite smells.” 

He winked, I waved, and slowly got back in the car…refreshed and ready to complete the last stage of the trip home…lost in memories…my cousins and I used to jump off the upstairs barn level (open gates) into a huge pile of hay we built in front of the barn. If Grandmother caught us she would be furious so we made sure we had a look-out while jumping.

(Looking back on it…no doubt Grandmother knew…from the squeals coming from the barn…and the hay stuck in our hair when called to supper…but she never let on…and luckily there were never any broken bones. 🙂

One scent I wish I could smell again is that of a gathering thunderstorm…we have been in the 100’s (temps) the last few days with no showers…we need some rain badly! I would love to smell the rain after a torrential down-pour….again..one of those fresh scents we can’t quite imitate.

So until tomorrow….

Eva Cate and Jake loved the SC Aquarium yesterday…Mandy said the hardest part was trying to keep Jake from touching everything but I reminded her that is how 5 -year- olds learn…tactile..touching, feeling and absorbing knowledge. No matter which choices parents make this fall…the power of human touch, while learning, will be sadly missed.

Am Praying Jake will get to play his first (modified) t-ball game all summer…he has suited up three times …just to be disappointed by the game being called, at the last minute, for various reasons…maybe tonight will be the night. Go Astro’s …Go Jakie!

Dear Reader:

There are some things I consider “sacred” to me… and the post office, my “magnolia” mailbox Mandy painted for me, and the memories of handwritten messages within that box… are all included in that term.

Right before I, daily, open my mailbox…there is always that fraction of a second pause…wondering if something special might be waiting inside. (Obviously, more times than not…there isn’t…but still the possibility has never died away from my childhood’s excitement at receiving a letter from a loved relative or friend.)

You grandparents, out there, already know this…but simply sending a card to your grandchildren provides squeals of delight as they wait to see what you sent. It is the wonderful sense of anticipation that never fades away..email, texting, facebook, etc. ….none can compare to opening a letter or card from a loved one.

*It makes children feel so important…they got a letter in the mailbox!

One of the most wonderful memories of my life dealt with note cards that arrived shortly after my sudden diagnosis of breast cancer and initial surgery- (followed later by three others.) By the time I got home from the hospital…there was a basket full of get-well cards waiting on me.

It made me so happy to read them and feel bolstered by so much support…and still they kept coming… until…finally both the hearths and the mantels, the balconies and banisters by the steps were filled with hanging cards…I remember some friends who came over to help me put them up…ran out of scotch tape.

My Happy Place had never been so happy…I literally was living in a “House of Cards.” Anybody stopping by did a double-take when they entered the house…I think I let the cards stay up for a couple of months…because I couldn’t bear the thought of taking them down.

Today they are stored in an old antique hat box…filled with these old memories from 2008…some times I still pull them out and re-read them when I face new obstacles in the on-going challenges of living with breast cancer.

While trying to adjust to such a different life style now…the thought of not having my mail carrier to chat with and sneak goodies to makes me terribly sad. I can’t imagine an empty neighborhood street with no mailboxes. There is only so much change we can handle at one time…we need some things in life to remain a constant…an anchor steady enough to secure the past, present, and future.

And what about beautiful hand-made three dimensional cards like what Beverly Parkinson made me for my birthday a couple of years ago…What a keepsake and treasure hers are to everyone she sends one to….just exquisite. (Big Red loves it too! 🙂

I still have letters my children wrote me growing up from camps and college…sweet letters from their teachers, old love letters from first loves…I feel so sorry for young people today if they don’t “snail mail”…how will they ever look back on those early love letters with the same smiles and sweet sighs…Texts and emails can’t begin to compete…too cold.

So until tomorrow… “What the world needs now is mail, snail mail…It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of…”

*We could all use a little snail mail today!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

So now…let’s look at pretty things to make us smile again…

***

Can’t be an ole’ history teacher and not remember Bastille Day (July 14)…Party on France!

Dear Reader:

My son-in-law (John)’s favorite expression is “That’s how we roll.” It usually follows a compliment I have given him about a cook-out he has put on or a surprise…he comes back with “That’s how we roll around here, Boo.”

One of my favorite Presidential expressions (I taught the etymology of) was “Keep the ball rolling.” To find the answer we have to go all the way back to the 1840 Presidential election of William Henry Harrison.

At the time (age 67) he was the oldest candidate to run for office. His detractors tried to use this against him… depicting him in a rocking chair in a log cabin carrying out the business of President…while drinking hard cider since he was a famous war general against the Shawnee tribe…  and well-known for enjoying this “liquid” indulgence.

His campaign manager decided to use the negative innuendos aimed at him and put a positive spin on them. They started selling bottled hard cider and even made an almanac around this idea.

It turned out to be very popular…then this creative manager decided to roll a big ball, decorated with campaign posters, through all the small towns leading up to the party’s convention center.

The idea worked splendidly….people ran out when they heard the ball was going through their town and added more pasted posters to it…so it got bigger and bigger as it went along. The slogan became famously known as “Keep the ball rolling.”

One of the catchiest phrases from the campaign was advertising General Harrison’s victory over the Shawnee Indians at Tippecanoe, Indiana. This popular incident was paired with John Tyler…Harrison’s Vice-Presidential running mate…producing  “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.”

Sadly after all that work…Harrison only lived about a month in office. Historical folklore claimed it was because he gave the longest inaugural address in history in bad weather…caught pneumonia and died. In other words he “talked himself to death.” (A warning to all future Presidents 🙂

John Tyler heard the news that he was  now President while on his knees shooting marbles with some of his fifteen children. Though Tyler was considered a weak unproductive President…his claim to fame was the remarkable “reproductive” personal side of him. His 15th child, Pearl, was born when he was 71 ! 🙂

Later when William H. Harrison’s grandson, Benjamin, ran for President and defeated  Grover Cleveland…he decided to “keep the ball rolling” too…using his grandfather’s famous campaign gimmick…and behold…it worked a second time…though Ben Harrison was pretty ineffectual and defeated after one term…by guess who…Grover Cleveland. *Here’s a photo of Ben’s ball!

When I looked up quotes with the word “roll” or “rolling” I had to laugh…There were so many … all I could think of was that these numerous quotes were “on a roll.” (And as far as “heads roll” well…we have seen a lot of that too in the past few years. 🙂

So until tomorrow…I do think the advice “Roll with it” is a good one ….again we have to let go of what we can’t control, have faith in God that eventually we will come out of these difficult times…stronger and better for going through them …and be better prepared to  “Let the good times roll.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

One other “positive” stemming out of the coronavirus is creativity…everyone is having to ‘think out of the box’ to provide entertainment that is safe for all.

Last night John and Mandy and Walsh and Mollie took their respective kids and cars to park next to each other at the “Holy City” Drive-in at Patriot’s Point…to watch the film “The Secret Life of Pets.”

(I told Mandy I love that all the cousins are able to be together…learning that when times are tough one always has family to fall back on.) *Important lesson and fun memories for the children during these times.

Now come with me to my “Walk-In” lawn tour and you don’t even need any tickets! 🙂

Dear Reader:

When Walsh, Mollie, and family were in the mountains last week…they spent one afternoon strolling through the quaint little mountain town of Blowing Rock.

It was there that Mollie sent me a video of the Prayer Tree Garden…it was so beautiful I wanted to know more…so I looked it up yesterday and the story is just as miraculous as the creation of the garden. I felt quite an affinity to it.

Like all good stories…the beginning started with a surprise, followed by an idea, and the perseverance to see the project through to the end. It started on an ordinary afternoon….about two years ago, in 2018.

What started as a bowl of hearts and a pen has since blossomed into nearly 1,000 notes displaying the prayers, hopes and wishes of people in Blowing Rock. The result of this small, outreaching act became what owner Sheri Furman calls The Prayer Tree: A Healing Vine of Hope.

Sheri and her employees placed a bowl of 50 wooden hearts and a pen outside the shop beside a tree adjacent to the cute lavender shop—no sign, no instructions, no example heart.

The bowl of hearts and pen were merely an invitation for people walking by to use. The hearts could have been left alone with no reference for their use, or they could have been written on and stuffed into other shopping backs as a token of remembering the day.

However, within a short time, Sheri rounded the corner to the shop and saw people had been writing their prayers, hopes, or wishes on the hearts and hanging them on the vine and tree beside the shop.

It was the simplest, purest form of an invitation to see what would happen, and soon enough the employees at Take Heart were ripping up sheets of paper just so people could continue writing down their sincere prayers to hang on the tree.

Since then, Take Heart has ordered and used over 500 white tags for people to continue writing their heart’s deepest desires and leave them among what is now nearly 1,000 others.

The Prayer Tree has enveloped this corner of Blowing Rock with faith as strangers stop to lift up others, offer encouraging words, or pour out their hearts to the tree. It’s a place to reflect, to connect, to cover each other in prayer.

Men and women, elders and children, healthy and sick, are each stopping to write, to hope, and to pray whether they are going into Take Heart or not. “Some people stop just to pray over the tree or individual cards without even writing their own prayers down,” says Sheri. “It’s not just for the heavy-hearted or for one person. It’s for all of us.”

This message from one child really touched me…this in regard to the boys trapped in that underwater cave in Thailand.

“Dear God…Help the boys in Thailand recover.”

What really made me sad was a second article written last year….apparently Sherri’s shop went up in flames due to an electrical problem….doing serious damage.

The whole town was behind her helping and trying to raise money to get it up and going again..

…Then …another  miracle…only feet away from the store fire were the paper prayers on the tree and vines…not one prayer was lost! Amazing!

It is strange how one idea can spread quickly when others parts of the puzzle come together. Ashley Burrell had dropped off some fun items for the grand kids after cleaning out their attic…and I just happened to stroll by one bag yesterday… something caught my eye.

It was a little cross with an “H” on it…(for Honey) that she had made on the kiln with a little blue ribbon already attached. Suddenly I had an idea!

*I have that “Swamp Maple” in the back side yard behind the garage which gives that area a lot of privacy. It will be my Prayer Tree...where white tags can be placed on the tree in the form of prayers, hopes, or wishes.

I wrote today’s date on the back of the cross and hung it on the tree. The beginning of another idea for my garden! A benchmark day!

Before we get to some of your COVID “Positives” …I want to acknowledge a few sad events that happened recently.

*Anne lost her sister, Nancy, to breast cancer…she had been in Maine for several days visiting with her and her other sisters who had gathered…Nancy was the first sibling to pass… so it is hard on everyone in the family. Prayers and condolences go out to you Anne and your lovely family during these sad but reflective days.

*Then yesterday I heard that my long-time oncology doctor  (almost a decade) Dr. Robert Silgals, passed away from a rare form of a cancer tumor also.  My wonderful oncology nurse and buddy, Linda Carson, let me know…I truly owe my life to this doctor who calmly followed the course but who also knew when to take risks and try new uncharted detours…it is why I am here now. I will miss you Dr. Silgals!

Here are some  COVID positives from our readers…

1. Gingi agreed with me on the make-up and daily attire but she said she has, also, talked more with her adult children in the last few months than ever before… since their schedules are lighter too…and loves it!
2. Dee Lesko said Sunday mornings are much easier/slower at her house since ZOOM can into existence: Zoom Plus- 1. No Sunday morning need for make-up   2. No Sunday morning need for the curling iron and …3. “I can wear to “Sunday Zoom” what I wore to bed Saturday night!!! 🙂
3. Isaiah Ministries: Ruth said she has paid off her credit cards and can give more now. She has lost weight because they are cooking at home. Lastly, they are not driving a lot, so fewer trips to buy gasoline.
4. Jo Dufford saw this cartoon and thought it was fitting for our ‘positive’ COVID 19 lighter vibes… I laughed out loud (I confess I am still a late night “Golden Girls” junkie!

Dear Reader:

Don’t we all wish we could bring the hilarious “big guns” of comedy back to life right now when our country needs humor desperately in our lives? Especially the Queen of Suburban  Housewives and Common Sense…Erma Bombeck!

How we have managed to let politics intrude into our daily lives causing us such pain and discomfort…I have no answer for…but I do know that Erma Bombeck would help us see the lighter side of the “troubled waters” we are all witnessing.

This homespun comedienne brought, not only knee-slapping humor to us through her newspaper columns, books, and stand-up comedy …but she also brought wisdom based on solid virtues we “baby boomers” all grew up with…listening to our parents of the “greatest generation.”

(…Advice like” You never discuss politics, religion, or money publicly”-these are private issues discussed only with family… that wisdom would sure cut down on all the fractious polarization in our country today.)

Grandmother Wilson always reminded me that no one really cares about our opinion…it is a waste of time…instead walk the talk and stop thinking that our opinion is the only right one.

In spite of  Bombeck’s winning bright smile and quick wit….she suffered most of her adult life with polycystic  kidney disease. At 69 she had a kidney transplant and unfortunately died from transplant complications. 

It was while she was in the hospital talking with close friends one day that the discussion turned to “do-overs”… if they could change things in their life. At first Erma firmly said “No…she wouldn’t change anything” but then the quick-witted personality saw a way to even poke fun (with a little more wisdom at this concept) …as her life was slowly leaving. She wrote:

“If I had my life to live over…

Someone asked me the other day if I had my life to live over would I change anything.

My answer was no, but then I thought about it and changed my mind.

If I had my life to live over again I would have waxed less and listened more.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I’d have cherished every minute of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten popcorn in the “good” living room and worried less about the dirt when you lit the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have burnt the pink candle that was sculptured like a rose before it melted while being stored.

I would have sat cross-legged on the lawn with my children and never worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television … and more while watching real life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband which I took for granted.

I would have eaten less cottage cheese and more ice cream.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick, instead of pretending the Earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for a day.

I would never have bought ANYTHING just because it was practical/wouldn’t show soil/ guaranteed to last a lifetime.

When my child kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now, go get washed up for dinner.”

There would have been more I love yous … more I’m sorrys … more I’m listenings … but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it … look at it and really see it … try it on … live it … exhaust it … and never give that minute back until there was nothing left of it.” ― Erma Bombeck

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Think about it…even with all these mammoth problems surrounding our country today…this is our life right now…the clock is ticking…we have to learn to make the most of this time and not put off waiting for the “new normal”– since nobody knows what that is or means anyway.

Each day has got to be the best day of our lives…we must find something humorous in every day, a bit of wisdom, a way to help someone else or just bring a smile.

Yesterday I thought of three very personal positive things I can say about our “little c” coronavirus …that I am enjoying …just because I can. 🙂

I don’t have to put on make-up any more….in fact…if I am putting on a mask I definitely don’t…who is going to see my face after all? Between my mask and sunglasses…I am simply Madam X- the invisible woman- I love it!!!! I could be anybody …it is so empowering and freeing. Love those masks! 🙂

Secondly…I don’t have to change outfits except perhaps every other day ….have been known to go three…I am at home…not getting dirty…what the heck…the only time I quickly change blouses…is if one of the neighbors heads my way who has seen me in the same outfit getting the mail…or checking on my plants…and even then I am just being silly…I don’t remember what anybody else is wearing unless it is something really cute that I like.

Finally…my retired school pension and social security go a lot further these days…I am not eating out with friends like I used to do twice or thrice a week or going to the movies (though I sure miss those lunches, movies, and friends-major part of my social life!)

In fact I had “so much” *(everything is relative- even with retired teacher pensions) left over  in my daily account this month (after paying the monthly bills) that I was able to pay my car insurance and car taxes at the same time. Never been able to do both with one month’s pay stub. A true miracle! 🙂

***Okay…your turn…we are thinking positive here…if you can come up with one positive change in your life since the pandemic…please share it with all of us….We need to keep concentrating on the positive and less on the negative.

So until tomorrow….

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

The Gazanias are going wild….a new bloom popping up each day…with such happy faces…love them!

Dear Reader:

The nicest thing about having a garden…is that over time, with added plants for different seasons, even parts of seasons…like early spring or late spring, early summer or late summer….one gets to enjoy something new popping up throughout every season of the year. It is always a welcoming surprise when it happens.

Early on I was told to plants hostas…one of the easiest plants to maintain I was reassured. (unless, of course, you have lots of deer or rabbits in your neighborhood.)

My only problem was…hostas are partial to shade and that is one entity I am in short supply of in my garden…it gets a lot of sun. But then one day I got the fountain (for the garden) installed…in my one shady area of the back yard and I, intuitively, knew this would be the best place to put my hostas.

I then made one decision that turned out to be the right one…to keep the three hostas I bought in their big black planter containers…against some gardeners’ advice. Every year some of my friends’ neighbors would tell me to remove them and plant them but I have never done it…six years out and still going.

When the cold comes I can lug the planters back to the wooded area and leave them to “sleep” through the winter…protected by nature…the bushes and trees and leaves. I call this spot at the back of my garden the “Waiting Woods.” 

If I am not sure if some plant is truly dead or simply “playing dead” I drop it off in this special area and give it time to sprout a little green or use the dirt from the dead plant during spring planting. Either way…it is economical and practical.

Last year I thought only one hosta had made it through the winter…but I simply left the other two hostas to wait a little longer in the woods…and sure enough…one day when I glanced over…there were bright green leaves peeking over the container. They, too, were ready to decorate the fountain again.

Each year they are more beautiful than the year before. By keeping them in their large containers…slugs can’t get to them and I fortunately don’t have rabbits or deer so they are safe to just grow and bloom and add beauty to my life.

“All that we need is to lift our spirits, is to gaze at the natural beauty of the world for a few moments.”  (Kohet)

I have been wondering, however, why this year I seem so drawn to hostas…much more so than in previous years…I sit in my swing each evening and watch the buds grow and slowly open…it is like watching a slow documentary video…up close and personal.

Then when I did some research yesterday on these beautiful plants I discovered their symbolism is two-fold.…health and mystery.

Here we are in the  “maybe middle” (who knows?) of the COVID19 pandemic, which is shrouded in mystery…with more questions than answers… and it is definitely affecting our health…physically, mentally, and emotionally. *Yes…hostas should be the showcase plant this year.

Hostas’ origins are oriental but have morphed into several different variegated specimens…the most common is called  “Plantain Lilies”…because their buds bloom in late summer- July and August…many gardeners have nicknamed them “August Hostas.”

Each bloom has six tepals…either white, lavender, or violet in color. The only strong fragrant scent comes from  the “Hosta Plantaginea.” It has white flowers about four inches long…they open in the evening and close by morning.

I picked them out especially when I first thought my “Moon Garden” would be filled with plants that bloom at night. *(Night bloom- picture I took right before 9:00 last evening of a one of my hosta blooms))

***( I later decided I wanted day plants too…why only have beauty for 1/2 a twenty-four hour period? Right?)  🙂

Working in a garden teaches us that we are all one in the universe…sharing the same cosmic energy. One excellent and readily available source of cosmic energy is plant life. Being attached to the earth, plants draw cosmic energy directly from the earth. We are able to draw cosmic energy from plant life, which is why we will often return from spending time in a garden feeling renewed and ‘up’.

( I never cease to feel happier and more fulfilled when I come back in the house following my daily garden “inspection.”)

So until tomorrow

“Every insect, every plant, every animal…all living things are a soul gaining experience.” Kohet

Some more “pretties”…

Vickie sent me this photo and said that now I wasn’t the only gardener with a fairy garden…Look at these four cool yellow mushrooms that sprang up in her potted plant…she’s right…she does have a fairy garden now…with lots of “housing.” 🙂

Yesterday I did a relatively rare thing…I fell sound asleep in mid-afternoon and didn’t wake up until almost 6:00! For some reason I haven’t slept well the last two nights and I just finally ‘hit the wall’ I reckon! But unfortunately someone from the Burrell family stopped by with all kinds of goodies from cleaning out their house and left them on the porch.

I was still foggy trying to wake up completely when I opened my front door to go get my mail…and then shrieked…an orange man was pointing something up at me! I feel sure the neighborhood heard my scream…it was my “hot date” waiting…Mr. “Boo” Man with a bag containing a Halloween book. Too funny! Thank you one and all Burrell family and I pray you are still around so I can see you before you head back to the mountains!

Dear Reader:

I have never given much thought to horoscopes and the signs of the Zodiac…except as light entertainment if the daily horoscope just happened to match my day or wish….but one thing I am pretty confident of…I am definitely a “Libra”…the balancing scales of the Zodiac.

Even as a child…there was always something pulling me back…if I got too off-kilter in life…whether the situation dealt with school, play, friends, boyfriends, hobbies, clubs, etc. An inner sense let me know I was spending too much time incorrectly and was off the given path…I needed to re-circle and find it again.

While taking my last few required educational courses at college…one bit of information struck a chord with me…and it has continued to be the best advice I ever got. We were studying early educators and philosophers of learning and teaching when we got to Aristotle’s famous quote: “Moderation in all things.” 

I can’t remember if any lights or bells went off when studying this Greek philosopher on any particular day…but my professor sure loved Aristotle and repeated that one piece of advice  numerous times throughout the course that semester.

Now at the age I am, upon reflection, it is probably the best advice on life and how to live it than any other adage. I wish, with all my heart, that there could be a giant banner with magnanimous colorful bright lettering that completely encircles our planet…(to the point that astronauts could practically touch the banner  in space)…with the words…

“M O D E R A T I O N   I N  A L L  T H I N G S.”

I think of all the bad things that flew out of Pandora’s box…the worst was greed. I disagree with the axiom….”Money is the root of all evil”…I think it is “Greed is the root of all evil.”

When we consider the “root” problems that give rise to wars, conflicts, economic depressions/recessions, environmental destruction, political scandals, etc. the culprit at the bottom of the layers of cover-up is always greed.

Man wants territories that don’t belong to him, or riches that come at the destruction of the environment we and all living creatures call home, inappropriate disbursement of life-sustaining supplies…creating the have and have-nots….we could go on and on.

We all wish for a perfect world…but until man can give up this need for greed…to take more than his share, to hoard what he has, to create a world that only benefits a  few….we will have to wait to the next world…to wait for the utopia we wish we had here.

Yet every day we can discover a way to make life happier/better by helping or giving away something to someone else, through friendships and strangers. We also must learn how to turn our days into bringing small bits of happiness into our homes  and then sharing that happiness.

We have had rain off and on for the past couple of days…the kind of unsettled days where it doesn’t seem like it knows what to do…one minute it is dark and cloudy, the next the sun is out…and then suddenly the rain starts pouring down again with the sun still shining.

* (I remember Grandmother Wilson used to tell me ‘the devil was beating his wife’ when it rained while the sun was shining). *Even to this day…I always remember that old wive’s tale and still feel like I did then…that devil wife definitely had sufficient cause for divorce!)

In between showers I decided to make my home a little happier yesterday with fresh flowers… like the ones in the title photo…using Honey’s cute little flower vases. It always puts a smile on my face to have little zinnias spreading their sunshine inside as well as out.

So until tomorrow…Let’s all try to keep our lives in balance…not overstepping our own needs for personal wants. “Moderation in all things.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

The Dingles got home around 7:00 last evening and had a wonderful vacation…going into Boone on a nostalgic tour of their old stomping grounds in college…Appalachian State before heading home!

The last evening view from the mountains…

*The funniest thing: I have a hummingbird that is obviously enamored with the red cardinal bird feeder. It flies around and around it…sometimes barely touching its face before it flies off.

I can only catch a quick blurry photo through the front window and screen so it isn’t the best visibility but enough, hopefully, for you, too, to witness the love affair! 🙂

Dear Reader:

Sunday evening…as the Dingle family was getting settled in their rental mountain cabin in  Elk Banner, NC…Eloise was being drawn to the skies.

The sun is going down…there is a white streak cutting through the sky…I imagine some type of jet…but it is left up to us to infer what Eloise is pointing at….as the setting sun’s rays reflect off the side of her excited little face.

If I had to guess…I would choose the rising moon…it has been so beautiful the last few nights. Whatever it is …it has captured a two-year-old’s total focus and attention…Eloise seems to be in a state of rapture. awe, and wonder over the beauty of what she is pointing at…

I think the following quote captures this memorable moment…“If we could see the world through the eyes of a child- we would see magic in everything.” Only children can still see the world as it should and could be… sadly most adults no longer can.

Every day we have the choice to affect the quality of God’s gift of the next twenty-four hours being given us…how we meet, greet, and complete each is our choosing.

One thing I have learned, thanks to “little c,” is that I should start each day with a prayer of gratitude for still being in the world…in my country, state, town, community, and home…surrounded by friends and family. If I start out with gratitude…the day will end with gratitude.

Challenging days are never “all bad”…and lousy days still possess the possibility of awe and wonder. We just have to quit lamenting and instead focus on the bright moments that appeared, even if only briefly, to reassure us tomorrow is another day with more opportunities to elevate our faith and turn our troubles over to Someone Who really can get the job done.

So until tomorrow…

There is one absolute in life, according to Becky’s view of world :)…It doesn’t matter if a day is “good” or “bad”….what matters is what we do with it. (But then we all knew that…)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Thank goodness Jake is back ….he picked up a little virus going around with children… but it ran its course quite quickly and he’s back in the game…literally! I am sure it was the popscicle Jake got that did the trick! Quite patriotic!

I have been living vicariously through Walsh and Mollie’s mountain trip…remembering so many places I visited over the years…some while Walsh was at “App State”…later with Honey a few years back…It makes me homesick for the mountains again…especially Grandfather’s Mountain!

What fun they have had on their bunk beds in the cabin and hammock on the porch!