A Little Spring Looky Looky

Not much going on down LaLa Lane this week. My daughter's wedding is a couple of weeks away. All the plans are in place. The small details have been or are being addressed. I am feeling confident that things are ready. I may shoot out a post next week with a few more details. However, I've been reveling in the calm this week.

The weather has been nice. Upper 60's and lower 70's all week with some rain. But not enough to keep me from enjoy a stroll around the yard. I took the camera and shot a few pictures of things happening in my neck of the woods. Literally!

Carolina Jasmine.....South Carolina's State Flower

Pines bursting forth....yellow pollen is covering everything.

Dogwoods starting to bloom.

Gambler still stalled, but healing just fine. He's chewing on a little hay snack.

Spooky, our Great Dane...she has one blue eye and one brown eye. She likes to lay in my flower beds on the pine straw.

I finally captured a decent photo of a Cardinal. He was checking out the surroundings so that his little honey could come and dine.

Unfortunately, this little nuisance has found the bird feed, also. So, I'm going to have to get creative to keep him out.

And, lastly....this creature from the devil himself also loves to lay in the pine straw. I saw him yesterday as I was backing out of my garage. Good thing I was in the car with the windows rolled up because if I had walked out and saw him.....911 would have been necessary.

I can't stand them! They scare the bejeebies clean out of me! Mama swears by moth balls. Cliff doesn't think anything works to keep snakes away, but I'm not above trying any and everything I've heard of to keep these horrifying, make-me-hurt-myself, slithering creatures away from my house.

It gives me the shivers just to post the picture!

Wrapping it up, I cleaned out my raised garden beds. Hopefully, this year I'm going to make my garden pretty as well as functional. I've got plans you no nothing about! You might want to stay tuned.

Happy Spring Y'all,

Laurie

P.S. There may be an adventure happening this weekend. You might want to stay tuned for that, too.

Horse Love

Meet Gambler.

 

A few weeks ago, he was being trailered to a trail ride in the back of a friends trailer. Something freaky happened....we don't know what.....and Gambler's leg went under the partition in the middle of the trailer and he was cut very badly. You can see it here...back leg on the left.

You may see it better here. Anyway, Cliff spent that whole day getting Gambler to the vet, having him treated and then getting him back home and stalled. He needed to keep the cut as clean as possible. It was bandaged and Cliff would have to change the dressing and put medicine on it regularly.

Gambler has had to see the vet, weekly, for check-ups to make sure he's healing properly. Here he is on his vet-visit, yesterday. The vet is pleased with his progression of healing.

 

Now, meet Big Butt Bertha. Just kidding, although she does have a big rump, her name is Sissy. Sissy is my daughter, Whitney's, horse. Sissy looks a little rough right now. Her mama hasn't been able to be here to comb out her mane. But back in the day, Whitney and Sissy won tons of blue ribbons. Whitney will be home for Emily's wedding in April, so Sissy will get some mama love, then. 

 

Speaking of love......Sissy liked to have freaked, when Cliff loaded Gambler on the trailer to take him to the vet. She runs rampant in the pasture until she's a heaping sweating mess. Finally, she gets so tired that she calms down and just stands at the stall looking longingly for her boyfriend to return home.

 

This picture of her and the two above show her watching as Cliff takes Gambler out of the trailer. She gets so antsy, she can hardly contain herself. And then, when Cliff opened the stall door and let Gambler in......

 

He runs to her and they hug! This is serious Horse Love, y'all!

And because today is the day.....a little color to say.....Happy First Day of Spring!

 

Take care...Talk soon,

Laurie

 

(Pssst....took these with my phone. I'll take better ones another time.)

Update On The Young Mother With Stage IV Cancer

Whitney

First of all, let me say thank you to everyone that prayed for Whitney and those of you that visited her blog and left uplifting messages for her there. If you recall her circumstances....Whitney has cancer in her lungs, liver and lymph nodes. Those are secondary sites. The doctors don't know yet where the cancer originated.

Whitney is believing God for the miracle of healing. She has an unshakeable faith. She has been sharing her story through a blog called This Little Light of Mine.

Whitney has been receiving a series of chemo treatments. She will need eight, for now. She has currently completed six. Tuesday, Whitney had a scan to see if treatments are working. She wasn't supposed to get any results until today, but received a call Tuesday evening with the results. Her tumors have shrunk by 70%.

Is God good or what?

Whitney and her family are beyond ecstatic. They are giving God all the Glory!

If Whitney crosses your mind, I ask that you whisper a prayer for her. She still has a long way to go. Praise God for His blessings and answers to prayer. We serve an awesome God.

When a believing person prays, great things happen.
James 5:16
(NCV)

Take Care....Talk Soon,

Laurie

They Came!

I left last Thursday for the lake and when I arrived.....stuff was happening. Flowers were popping up, shrubs were flowering and there were birds everywhere. I have them in the trees, in the shrubs, in the grass and on the tables. I was so excited. I was equally excited that there was no bird poop or foot prints on the porch this time.

I don't know what these are.....yet. They were a total surprise.

It's going to be a learning curve, discovering new to me plants.

I think the previous owner told us this was a plum....but, I don't know for sure.

Forsythia, that...I am sure.

 

Look, I finally got a bird photo.

These Robins are eating good....we have worms!

An this sweet little Wren, perched himself right on top of the patio table.

 

Remember that I left birdfeeders full, at home, before I left for the lake? Well, I got back home yesterday and the little orange feeders were empty. I nearly leaped for joy. And then it wasn't too long that I started getting little visitors.

 

THEY CAME!

 

They came for supper, and this morning, they came for breakfast. Again, there will be a learning curve here. I need to learn what kind of birds are visiting....I know a few. I need to learn what kind of food they like. And, I need to learn how to photo them. For now, here's what I have.....

 

The Cardinal

I'm not sure about this one. It has eye markings like a Wren,

but the breast color is throwing me off.

His tail feathers...he's so cute!

Look at those markings!

Uh oh, I've been spotted. 

 

He cautiously continues feeding while keeping an eye on me.

And they came, two by two.

 

Maybe someone out there can tell me what they are. There was another bird that I couldn't get a photo of...he was just too quick. That particular bird is very small with a grayish, bluish head. I'm wondering if it's a finch. There are multitudes of them. Maybe I can capture a shot of one tomorrow.

 

I'm thinking you should prepare yourself for an onslaught of bird photos. I'll try to constrain myself, but I'm not making any promises. Ha!

 

Take care.....talk soon,

Laurie

 

P.S. - Sunday, Lidia and Sawyer went swimming for the first time this year....in their wetsuits. I could hear Sawyer screaming all the way up to the house. He went under. Ha! As cold as the water was, they played in the lake for a couple of hours. The wetsuits, obviously, works or they would have bolted out of the water the minute Sawyer went under. He certainly worked up an appetite. This child, the one who normally eats about as much as the birds above, ate his dinner like it was going out of style. 

 

 

 

If I Build It, Will They Come?

I've been longingly looking at your bird photos, swooning over their beauty. It made me want to shoot some photos of birds in my own yard. But guess what? There is a severe lack of birds in the neighborhood! As in, none!

I made a comment on a blog post of Betsy's that I have not seen many birds this winter....Cardinals usually visit, but I have not seen the first one. And then I had a bird epiphany and said, "I think I should put some food out for them. That'll probably do the trick". And she agreed by saying, "lol...yes, food would help"!

Ha!

So, I went about buying and making some birdfeeders. I'm building a place for birds to visit, have a little dinner and maybe move in for a while. I still need to get a birdbath, but I have an idea to make one. We'll see how it turns out. I'll share it, if I decide to use it.

New birdfeeder and little acorn shaped birdhouse.

 

The birdfeeder has been filled with yummy bird goodness.

 

 

Close-up of the sweet little dragonfly adornment.

 

The acorn birdhouse, awaiting it's guests.

 

And the birdfeeder echoes the sentiments of 'come and get it'.

(See the open window.....it was in the 80's today)

 

Maybe what they long for is a little color,

 

Or....this delicious birdseed concoction to calm their hunger.

 

 

And for you....some pre-spring color in this yellow forsythia.

 

Happy Wednesday Y'all,

Laurie

Incident In The Piggly Wiggly Parking Lot

You ever been to the grocery store with your friend and she stays in the car while you run in? LOL!

I have.

My friend Pam and I went to lunch today. We only get to see each other every other weekend, if we're lucky. So we usually have some catching up to do. We had a good time, just chatting away about what we had been up to. I told her about me tearing off the front bumper of my Tahoe at Christmas, about my sister playing a prank on me while I was at the lake....by myself....and now I sleep with a knife by my bed. We talked about the fire department showing up at her house the other night because her fire alarm went off. HaHa! I get the burglar alarm, remember....sensor 12? And she gets the fire department. We laughed and laughed. We were clearly entertaining the couple at the table next to us.

And then Cliff sent me a text.

He needed some Gatorade. Orange. He asked if I would stop at the store and pick some up.

So, Pam and I went to the Piggly Wiggly. I asked her if she wanted to come in and she said no, that she would just sit in the car.

I tried to hurry. I didn't want her to have to sit in the car, in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot, by herself. I found the orange Gatorade and quickly went through the check out line.

Now, don't you just hate it when the grocery clerk practically pushes your change and receipt at you and starts ringing up the next person in line, before you ever put your change in your wallet? Yeah, me too!

I was feeling pressured. I was trying to hurry and get out of her way while still thinking about leaving Pam alone in the parking lot. So, I had Gatorade under one arm and trying to fish my keys out of my pocketbook with my other hand. The strap of my pocketbook was falling off my shoulder and I was trying to catch it before it fell to the ground.....and unbeknownst to me, was squeezing the key fob at the same time.

I walked out the door of the Piggly Wiggly and all I could hear was an alarm blaring. Quickly scanning the parking lot, I wondered if someone had an accident, maybe backing into someone. But, everyone seemed to be walking to their cars like nothing unusual was happening. And then, the closer I got to my car, I could see Pam looking at me and it was then that I realized the alarm was coming from my car.  I hollered, "Is that my car?" LOL!!! And Pam's little head was shaking yes!

I started laughing and running...as best I could. I was wearing my Danskos. So, I was keenly aware that I could fall. Remember when I fell down the stairs at the beach and Cliff told me to just get some real shoes? Yeah, so I was mostly shuffling instead of running. Anyway, I made it to the car and there sat Pam, the alarm blaring and me laughing my head off. I asked what happened and she said, "I don't know. I was just sitting here and the alarm started going off."  I just about wet my pants, laughing.

We figured that while I was fishing for my keys, I squeezed the alarm button on the key fob.

LOL!!!  I bet Pam won't stay in the car alone, in the parking lot, by herself again. Bless it!

There's always an adventure going on around here!

HeHe,
Laurie

A Random Act of Kindness For A Young Mother With Cancer

This is Whitney...a young woman of amazing faith!

This is the last week of the Random Act of Kindness posts that I've been trying to do. And honey child, this one just fell in my lap. I'm linking up with Betsy of My Five Men for this adventure.

Wednesday, I got a phone call from the Ellen DeGeneres Show. I nearly flipped! It was actually a voice mail and when I heard it, I started shaking.

The young lady introduced herself in a chirpy, sweet young voice....she said, "Hi, this is Courtney from the Ellen DeGeneres Show and I'm looking for Whitney. Did I find her?". She went on to ask if I would return her call and gave me her number.

Well, naturally, I thought she was looking for my daughter, Whitney. So, I immediately called my daughter and asked if she had been in touch with the Ellen DeGeneres Show. I was thinking maybe she had entered some sort of contest. But she said, "No, and this girl, Courtney, just called me, too. She was looking for a Whitney that has been diagnosed with cancer". "Oh", I said, "I know her or at least I know of her". "I need to go call Courtney back and tell her that I know who she's looking for".

So, ding dong me calls Courtney and got her voice mail. I go about bumbling through a message to her. I told her that I knew the girl she was looking for and that if she would call me back that I would, in the meantime, try to find Whitney's phone number for her. I started to give her my cell phone number and nothing.....I couldn't remember it to save my life. So I paused and tried again. Still, nothing! So by this time, I'm guessing Courtney thinks I'm some sort of a whack job. So, I apologized and gave the excuse that I never call my cell phone and couldn't remember the number and asked that she just call my home phone, the one she called earlier.

This is where my random act of kindness comes in to play. I went about trying to help this girl locate Whitney. Now, I only just recently learned of Whitney, so I had to jump through a bunch of hoops to try to obtain a phone number for her. But first, let me tell you a little bit about Whitney.

Whitney is a young mother of two. She is only 27 years old and she was recently diagnosed with cancer. Her prognosis.....months to live without chemo and maybe 5 years with chemo. One of my friends on Facebook commented on a post that Whitney had written and that's how I came to know about her. Whitney has actually started a blog to document her journey with cancer and her amazing faith. So, I went to her blog and read all the posts. I was blown away by her faith and outlook on life and how she was dealing with this terrible news. She is determined to live for her children so that she can one day know her grandchildren. So of course, I had to comment. I told her that I was unsure at first who she was, but that there was no doubt. She had to be the daughter of a girl I knew in high school because she looked just like her mother. Sure enough, her mother was the same girl I knew back in school. I went on to tell her how inspired I was by her faith and gave her the name of a book to read about how another lady had discovered that by eating a vegan diet, she could stop her cancer from growing, which she indeed did. I became a follower of Whitney's blog. Just a couple of days later, Whitney's blog went viral. She was featured on our local news and Yahoo, I believe, picked it up from there. And then her blog really went crazy. She has already had over 140,000 views on her blog.  Whitney is an extraordinary young lady. Her faith is unshakeable. Please join me and countless others to lift her in prayer. She desperately wants to live for her children and her family. Whitney has found her calling, she believes, in witnessing to others asking them to also put their faith in God. If you would like to read more about Whitney, visit her blog here.

Now back to the hoops..... I called two of my sisters asking if they knew her number. One sister gave me her parents phone number and the other, texted a friend of hers who happened to be the sister of one of Whitney's aunts. I also contacted a friend from Facebook to ask if she knew the number. I wasn't getting anywhere, fast. So, I sent Whitney a message through Facebook messenger to call me, and that she wasn't going to believe this, but The Ellen Show was trying to reach her. She didn't respond right away. All the waiting for people to respond had me in a nervous tizzy. So, I decided to give Whitney's mom a call. Needless to say, she was surprised to hear that The Ellen Show was trying to find Whitney. She gave me Whitney's number and then I called Courtney back a second time. Got her voice mail and again, I apologized for sounding like a crazy woman. I asked her to please call me back that I had information and a phone number for her and that I really wanted to make sure the call was legit before passing Whitney's number along. I didn't want to give some kind of false claim to Whitney about the Ellen show trying to contact her, if this was a hoax. Courtney never did call back. I was concerned that she might just think I was crazy, but more importantly that Whitney might miss out on whatever opportunity that The Ellen Show would provide her, if it was legit. We all know that Ellen has a good heart and is a big giver. I could only imagine what they would do for Whitney.  Finally, a couple of hours later, Whitney called me. I told her what I knew and gave her Courtney's number. I wished her luck.

I've heard from Whitney and she has been in contact with the show. She got the feeling that they were looking for someone with a financial struggle with medical bills. And thank goodness, Whitney has good health insurance. This just speaks further of Whitney's character. She told them she was good in that area, which I'm sure freed them to offer financial help to someone else. So, the Ellen Show won't be featuring anything on Whitney. I sure do wish the best for this sweet girl. I pray she receives the miracle she is looking for. And I do believe God is working in Whitney's life. She is so happy to be able to witness on such a grand scale, but is feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment, as you can imagine. I was somewhat hesitant about writing about her, so I asked her permission. She told me to feel free to share as much as I would like. We believe the more people that know about her, the more people she will have praying for her. And that is truly a huge blessing.

Jumping hoops Wednesday, trying to help this young girl get in touch with The Ellen Show, to me, is what Random Acts of Kindness is all about. Doing something nice to help someone takes little effort, but the results can be rewarding in more ways than one. Please take any opportunity you can find to do something kind today. You will be blessed. I feel like I have been and I really didn't do anything. Just made a few calls.

Again, please visit Whitney's blog. You won't regret it. And if you wouldn't mind, whisper a prayer for her and her family.

God Bless,
Laurie

The Beauty of Old Churches

Cliff knows I love old churches and he sent me a photo text of one, today. When I asked, "Where is this? I need to go take a picture of it with my camera"....this is how the conversation went.

Cliff:  *Off limits.
Me:  No. It can't be!
Cliff:  *Off limits to you.
Me:  NO!
Cliff:  Probably has snakes.
Me:  Well, I wouldn't doubt that, but I can stay in the car. Where is it???
Cliff:  On the other side of snake city. (Snake City is a place on the trail where he runs in the Francis Marion National Forest)
Me:  I'm on the way.

*He was just messing with me. He actually took an hour or so off work to take me to it.

So, I struck out...camera in hand. The following pictures are what we saw. There was a sign in the cemetery adjacent to the church grounds that said the cemetery was circa 1828. So, I assume the church was too. There are so many abandoned churches, buildings, barns and stately old homes still around, today. I wish we could save them all. Restore them to their former glory. Although, I don't have the means to do so, I can at least capture their spirit through a picture or two and promise to remember them. Most have seen better days, some are literally on their last leg, but they are all beautiful to me. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. Hope you can see past the missing shingles, rotting wood, gaping holes, missing glass and all it's brokenness......because old churches, like this one, are a legacy.

Halfway Creek Methodist Church

Shulerville, SC

 

 

 

Not only did I see beauty in this old church, but the crocuses and grape hyacinths in my yard were screaming beauty, too. They are declaring that Spring is on the way.

 

Have a lovely day,

Laurie

 

P.S. The temps yesterday was 78 degrees F, tomorrow's forecast is for a high of 41 degrees F. Mama calls this seesaw weather.