Corner View: Simple Pleasures

One of my simple pleasures is audio books.

I started listening to them on my drives to and from school.

The words along with the beautiful scenery

keep me awake and in a great mood.

I am on my 5th book.

I just finished the one above.

Having listened to Anne Before Green Gables,

I wanted to know about her at Green Gales.

I had always wanted to read the books,

but never got around to them.

I had to go to the children's audio book section of our library

to find Anne of Green Gables.

It was there that I discovered a good representation

of the Little House on the Prairie book series--

books that I had recently been told I must read. :>)

This is the first book

and I am presently listening to it and thoroughly enjoying this simple pleasure.

Please join Francesca to see more corner views.

Sweethearts and Monday's Prayer of Grace

We got back from Christmas break 

to discover that in order to have a Sweetheart Dance

and court and queen,

we'd have to have it in three weeks--

the last home weekend basketball game of the season. 

My team of girls and I got busy.

Above is the court 

with the senior candidates for queen in front

and the freshmen, sophomore, and junior attendants

(in that order)

behind them.

Here the four seniors.

The same girls got voted in for this court--

minus the one who got Homecoming Queen.

A girl can only be one queen.

The one on the left end and the one in the bright fuchsia dress

are my hardest and most dependable workers.

The fuchsia girl is extremely artistically talented.

The photographer insisted I get in the photo.

These photos were done in order to have one for the newspapers.

I have her do extras and I take a bunch too.

I took individual pics of the girls for the display window

that is just inside the front door.

My team of three junior girls made a superb display

which I will take a pic of today and post.

Bad weather intervened. 

 School was canceled on Thursday,

 and Friday we were dismissed 2 1/2 hours early.

BUT we had the game and dance on Saturday.

Two wonderful girls came in at 4 and helped me decorate.

Several teachers always help with the festivities, so I had plenty of 'backup'.

All went great!

All the girls + the queen from last year.

The freshman is in the blue on the left end.

The sophomore is in black and the junior is in white--

they are both on the right side.

The four seniors and best of friends.

The crowning.

Our new 2013 Sweetheart Queen and a senior escort and close friend.

This young lady is truly a sweetheart and I was thrilled that she was chosen.

The entire student body votes on the four senior candidates.

Hugs and settling in on the front bleacher.

 

The four danced together most of the night and had a blast.

Introduction of the court and queen

by the DJ.

Then they danced to the theme song:

"Somebody's Heartbreak"

by Hunter Hayes.

Monday's Prayer of Grace:

Lord,

You are the Giver of all life.

Let me live a life that pleases You,

and let me thank You always for Your blessings.

You love me and protect me, Heavenly Father.

Le me be grateful,

and let me live for You today

and throughout eternity.

Amen.

Barn Charm # 65 and Prayer of the Week

This looks like it might have once been used for storing farm equipment.

It now stores lots of mattresses.

I'm not sure why.

I could only get this from far away

 and was having trouble getting the barn to show

 through the barb wire fence and winter shrubs.

So I went with black and white.

Both pics were taken out west of town

after a snowfall two weeks ago.

I'm combining two posts today.

Therefore, here's the 

Prayer for the Week:

Dear Lord, 

Your love is eternal and Your laws are everlasting.

When I obey Your commandments, I am blessed.

Today, I invite You to reign over every corner of my heart.

I will have faith in You, father.

I will sense Your presence;

I will accept Your love;

I will trust Your will;

and I will praise You for the Savior of my life:

Your Son Jesus.

 Amen.

Tough week ahead for me at school.

I will need to keep this prayer 'front and center' in my mind and heart

in order to get through it all.

May you all have a blessed rest of the week!

I am joining Tricia at Barn Charm.

Corner View: Morning, Noon, and Night

From my archives:

A typical summer day at the lake.

These 'moment's were actually taken in different years,

but our days run the same.

Reading the morning newspaper.

Soaking up the rays at the boater's beach. at noon.

Then snuggling up for the night.

Peyton prefers to sleep wedged in between the extra supplies and the actual bed in the camper's loft. There is a queen size, comfortable mattress up there, but this is what she insists on.

Addy and Dillon sleep on Winnie the Pooh blow-up beds in the living room of the camper.

For more corner views, head on over to Francesca's.

Sunset

". . .my strength comes from GOD,

who made heaven, and earth . . ."

Psalm 121:2

Views of the sun setting in one of my one favorite photo-gathering spots

out west of our small town.

I'm joining others 

for

Corner View:Look but not touch

It looks to me that if I just walk far enough into the woods,

I will end up being close enough to touch the light.

Of course, I know, I can only look and not touch.

This looks like a soft pastel drawing.  

I'm sure I can run my hands through the sifting colors

and have the 'glow' on them.

Of course I know I can just look, but not touch.

It looks like there is a path partway up--

a fluffy walkway into the blue.

But of course, I can't walk it or touch it;

I can only look.

I love our ever-changing skies.

In the early mornings, even when I'm a bit harried and rushed,

I look up at the sky and am calmed by the beauty.

I have to be careful I don't drive off the road,

so mesmerizing are the colors.

The sunsets too create a feeling of total awe

as I gaze at the wonder of the flowing colors, shapes, and patterns.

For more views on looking but not touching,

please head on over to Francesca's place.

I'm posting early, so hers may not be up yet.

Barn Charm:#64 Winter settings

I have shown these barns before,

but never after a snowstorm.

It was a day when I thought the road, out west of our small town,

would be navigatable and fairly safe.

Here is just a smattering of what I 'captured' that day.

For more barn views, please head on over to Tricia's place.

My uploading problem is fixed for now.

I take this computer forgranted.

I assume when I sit down and need something to work,

it will.

I'm really thrown a curve when something does not work,

as in my recent problem of not being able to access my files.

Two answers:

1. My husband (an IT genius who used to make his living

 fixing John Morrell's company computers) quickly discovered 

that if I used Google Chrome, the usual 'button' came up on my post screen.

To my astonishment, just because he put Google Chrome on my computer 

did not mean I was using it when I logged in.

No, I was still using Internet Explorer.

I had to click on the Google Chrome icon and access my blog from it.

I had not been doing that.

He then fixed it so that when I clicked on the icon, two choices came up

and one was my blog, thus making it quite easy for even me to access it.

2. He somehow got on a section of Blogger that announced that they knew

that for many blogger customers, the usual access 'button' was missing.

They were trying to figure out the problem and fix it.

He figures that Microsoft ran their usual security patch every Wednesday

and something in Blogger was not compatible, so the patch rendered it nonexistent.

He says someone in Blogger is most likely

 rewriting a program to make this particular access work again.

IT would not allow Microsoft to run such security patches on John Morrell's systems

without specific notification and permission.

So if you know of anyone experiencing this problem, 

they need to check what program they are using.

I had checked and saw that I had plenty of space on my google account,

so that was not the problem.

However,  I had been told by Blogger several months ago

 that I needed to use an updated program

 such as Google Chrome, Foxfire, etc. 

and though I thought I was using one, I wasn't.

If your program is not the problem, then it's a blogger system problem

that they are working on.

My husband did the following today:

1. Got my posting method working again

2. Set up my docker station for my MP3 player.

3. Updated my MP3 player so the remote control worked with it.

and managed to save my music at the same time ---

he had wiped his music out when he updated his awhile back.

4. Connected my Kindle Fire HD to wireless and got that working for me.

{The docker is esp. for MP3 players and he searched until he found one

for me for Christmas.

The Kindle Fire HD was also a gift from him for Christmas.}

In conclusion, I would be up a technological creek without a paddle

if I didn't have such a talented husband.

I'm fixing him steak for supper tonight.

Thanks to all of you who responded to my plea for help.

Problem--blogger and photos

I clicked on New Post and clicked on Browse icon.  However, instead of access to my computer files coming up, blogger now has a list and in the list is no access to my files.  They have something called Picassa Web Albums and my blog, my phone, web cam, and URL.  Are the rest of you having problems?  My blog consists of just the photos already posted as does the Picassa Web Album.  How do I get to my picture files?  What in the world has blogger 'gone and done' now?!   Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

Serenity and snow

I figured it was safe enough to venture out

to my favorite photo snapping countryside

out west of our town.

So I slipped out there after a run to the post office

and pharmacy.

Serenity and Beauty at their finest--

just what I needed the day before a return to school.

Happy Moments: Aaron eating cake!

My daughter limits her children's sugar intake.

Last Christmas was the first time we saw Aaron eat a cookie.

This year he got a piece of cake.

Apparently the night before at the Chinese restaurant,

he was served a piece of his mother's birthday cake.

No one saw him eat it; he ate it that quickly-

one minute it was there; the next it was gone!

So we all gathered round to watch him eat this piece.

My son had his I-Phone recording the 'moment,'

which he then sent out to other family members.

Sara's face is a good representation of most of our faces.

No utensils for Aaron---simply fingers.

He scooped up extra icing

and then licked his fingers.

Happy boy!

His cousin Addy doesn't see what the big deal is:

it's just cake!

"Another One Bites the Dust" and today's prayer of grace

The song by Queen "Another One Bites the Dust"

is probably going to apply once again

to another house quest.

This has the most promise of everything we've seen.

It is on 5 acres.  The pond to the right belongs to the property.

The swing set and house beyond it does not.

That land was sold off to a brother who built the house,

raised his children in it,

and then moved on when he was able to buy 50 acres

complete with an airfield---in the middle of nowhere.

I hear that the ones who live there now are nice.

Front of the house.

Front with a view of the huge building that goes with the house

and acreage.

View from the back of the big building.

The pond trickles down to a bit of a stream.

The ribbon of black to the right is a major roadway,

Rt. 800.

So what is wrong?

So much is right, yet enough is wrong to unsettle us.

The biggest kicker is the distance from our small town.

It's way out in the sticks

and though there are several shortcuts to a main highway

for my work trip,

I'd be kidding myself if I didn't admit that some days

it would seem like forever to get home.

A trip to the grocery store will be a minimum of 30 minutes round trip

on an extremely hilly road that has no areas for passing.

Realistically, we are looking at 40 minutes or more,

which is a lot when it is now 15 minutes round trip.

The building is huge, but cut up into rooms

that are not viable for Mike's needs.

He and the brother of the deceased owner

(his widow is selling it),

walked around discussing what walls could be knocked down,

and how it could be adapted.

The brother is the one who built the building--

he makes his living building homes.

He built the two additions on either end of the house:

a master bedroom suite and a huge eat-in kitchen.

Both are quite nice.

The main house is small though and needs work.

The basement esp. would need a major renovation.

I'm not a DIYer though I watch HGTV shows

and buy the magazines.

Even if I could wallpaper and paint a wall

without getting the paint

everywhere,

 including a generous coat on me,

my fibro condition has worsened to the point

that I have barely enough energy to do my teaching job.

Strip wallpaper?

Paint several rooms?

Expect my brain to pick out carpet and colors and so on

when some days I struggle with concocting a simple supper?

Too little faith?

Or just enough realistic acceptance?

I don't know.

Meanwhile, I call this building home.

It has 600 sq. ft. of unfinished basement--

through which everyone enters

as there is no parking on the front street

and no walkway around the house.

Upstairs is another 600 sq. ft.

 which consists of a beautiful craftsman style

dining room and living room that flow together

and a decent sized kitchen (small, but doable).

The kickers are the tiny bathroom

and the teeny, tiny bedroom.

One bedroom.

No place for grandchildren to nap,

because the bedroom is directly off the living area

and thus not cut off from family noise.

No place for daughter and family from Texas to stay.

No place to go in and close the door to each other

unless we want to lie down and sleep

(I cannot sit up and read in bed

--too hard on my neck and shoulders--a recipe for a migraine).

This is our 'backyard'.

Lovely pond, huh? Not!

There is instead an alley

with a car repair business across from our garage

and another one up from this one.

Fantastic neighbors and close friends though,

on both sides of our house--

we recognize and are grateful for that blessing.

No place for a dog ---coal trucks on busy street

would make roadkill of one--can't risk that

and no viable yard for a fenced in area.

So what is God planning?

I so want to know.

Please understand that I think of those with much less

and feel ungrateful.

I am grateful that I have this.

But our marriage needs another room.

My sanity needs a dog.

The mother in me needs my kids and grandkids to have a place to stay.

If that's asking too much, then I'm guilty.

This is not what I planned to write.

However, I guess I needed to get it out.

Devotions yesterday morning

gave me this from one thousand gifts

by Anne Voskamp:

"In a storm of struggles,

I had tried to control the elements,

clasp the fist tight so as to protect self and happiness.

But palms curled into protective fists

 fill with darkness. . .

and this realization. . .

My own wild desire to protect my joy at all costs

 is the exact force that kills my joy.

Flames need oxygen to light.

Flames need a bit of wind. . .

Broken glass ignites in light and there it is,

the secret of joy's flame:

Humbly let go.

Let go of trying to do,

let go of trying to control . . .

let go of my own way,

let go of my own fears.

Let God blow His wind,

His trials, oxygen for joy's fire.

Leave the hand open and be.

Be at peace.

Bend the knee and be small

and let God give what God chooses to give

because He only gives love,

and whisper surprised thanks.

This is the fuel for joy's flame.

Fullness of joy is discovered

only in the emptying of will.

And I can empty.

I can empty because counting His graces

has awakened me to how He cherishes me,

holds me,

passionately values me.

I can empty because I am full of His love.

I can trust.

I can let go."

(pages 178 & 179)

Wow! I didn't know when I read this

and thought I needed to share it

that the person who needed it most

was me.

And that when I told my daughter

I would cry over losing this house,

I wasn't taking into account God's grace and love and wisdom.

I am not crying and that is a relief.

Today's Prayer of Grace

Dear Lord,

I have so much to learn

and You have much to teach me.

Give me the wisdom to be still

and the discernment to hear Your voice,

today and every day.

Amen.

From One Hundred Days of Grace for Women

Blessings to you all as we begin 2013.