Before you read more in this blog post, please read this article: Message from Cee via Chris.
I have chosen everlasting flowers today as my post for Cee’s Flower of the Day. A heart of Maple Keys seems appropriate to send to Cee and Chris. Blue Violets also mean Love and Faithfulness, and I send that to Cee. I believe in Life Everlasting. God bless us all.
I post this fun Christmas craft every year, inexpensive, and oh so rewarding.
This is a throwback post and a craft that’s been around for countless years. Since the time of paper and scissors, adults and children have been cutting paper snowflakes for windows and gift packages.
I cut over a hundred every year for my windows. I’ve included a how-to video with this post, but I have tweaked my snowflakes over the years and want to share a new tip or two. There are two weeks between now and December. I need to cut a few daily to prepare enough for December 1st.
The most important tip I want to share is to cut many different-sized snowflakes. The snowflakes on my windows look more interesting if they are not uniform in size. I use squares of computer paper cut into various sizes, four inches to eight, and everything in between. If you start with a square and do the folding correctly, your snowflakes will be a success.
As always, the best way to store paper snowflakes is inside a book until you are ready to use them. Here is a true story and a tip, too. Write down what book you place them in and where they are kept. I lost dozens and dozens of finished snowflakes a year or two ago. I found them months later in the “safe” place I had stashed them.
To finish off the snowflakes, press them between sheets of wax paper with an old iron you reserve for crafts, or to preserve your iron and board, encase them in several layers of newspaper and press them in wax paper. When you pull the wax paper away, your snowflakes will have a protective layer of wax to keep off the condensation winter windows often form.
I use washable school glue sticks to keep the snowflakes in place. When it’s time to take them down just pull the paper away from the windowpane and swipe with a wet washcloth once or twice. Let the moisture soak in for a minute, wipe again, and all the paper and glue washes away. Sometimes, if I use the right cloth, I don’t even need to use window cleaner. Anyone who has ever picked transparent tape off of a piece of window glass will know how tedious it is and how long it takes. Gluing the snowflakes to the windows sounds scary, but believe me, I’ve done it for years and it is SOOOOOO much
easier than taping because of easy removal.
WordPress sent me this notice today:
Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
You registered on WordPress.com 16 years ago.
Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.
Thank you WordPress. The years have been wonderful blogging with you! Thanks to all those who have read my posts over the years. I’m not sure that I have blogged since that date, but hey, it’s nice to know that is when I registered with the site.
All created things are living in the Hand of God.
The senses see only the action of the creatures;
but faith sees in everything the action of God.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade
This past week, I finished reading The Bronte Sisters, The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne by Catherine Reef. It was an excellent biography of the Bronte sisters who authored several books. Between them, the sisters wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Shirley, Villette, The Professor, and a volume of poetry called Poems.
Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, is far and away my favorite. I have read and listened to it on Audiobook, and I especially enjoy viewing the many versions of it on movie screens and television. I want to enjoy Wuthering Heights, too, and I do, somewhat, but it is a dark story and I’ve never taken to it like I have Jane Eyre.
Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard are excellent writers and always find a way to make history enjoyable for me. Confronting the Presidents is not an exception to that fact. I am a quarter of the way through and beginning to read the chapter on President Zachary Taylor. I am strangely mesmerized by the peculiarities and eccentricities of the presidents who helped form our country. Believe me, they all had a few. Did you know one of the early presidents skinny-dipped daily in the Potomac and was often joined by staff and occasionally pedestrians walking by?
I’ve enjoyed this book because it reminds me of long-ago learned history, which has settled at the bottom of my brain. I have loved being reminded of The Louisiana Purchase and other significant events brought about by the first presidents.
Since chronological order doesn’t matter, I read the end chapter on President Donald Trump. I felt lukewarm about O’Reilly’s assessment of President Trump’s first presidency. I was offended by Martin Dugard’s opinion on President Trump, but he is entitled to think as he will.
I recommend both of these non-fiction books.
The word for today’s Ragtag challenge is Gobbledygook. I looked it up to ensure my take on the definition was correct; I was thinking foolishness, junk, etc. I was not far off. Some synonyms for Gobbledygook are bafflegab, double-talk, gibberish, rigamarole, song and dance. Most of these have to do with the spoken word.
I don’t know about your area, but I live near a major swing state and an important city for the upcoming election. I am across the river from Philadelphia, and our media stations are from the city. The commercials, at this point, are constant political GOBBLEDYGOOK. All of the candidates have gifts, talents, and flaws. Of course, I lean heavily toward one candidate, as most of us do now, but I am tired of ALL the negativity bombarding us.
Only a few more days until the election itself is behind us. To counteract, I hope, the possibility of the rampant fraud in the last election, I voted early this year. It was the first time I took advantage of this type of voting. I am in my 60s and have voted yearly for decades.
We thought we’d be one of a few voting early. Oh my! I knew that was a wrong assumption as soon as we pulled into the parking lot of the voting center. Inside, there were long lines, but the atmosphere was wonderful. Doesn’t that sound odd? Everyone seemed happy and lively, and no one complained, campaigned to, or criticized the person near them.
I felt happy to be utilizing my civic right and duty. I voted. I am glad to support the candidates I think are the best choice for the country, county, town, and school board. VOTE! Vote early or on election day. But for those in my country, please vote. Thanks!
The beautiful fluff emerging from the pods of the Butterfly Weed has entranced me for days. God fashioned the pod’s tip to open the fluff before it rides the wind. The sharp end helps the poufs round out as they await launch.
This week, I held the fluff above my head and watched as it rode the air currents fifty feet into the air. Quickly out of sight, I wished they would reach the heavens and lightly brush the face of God. Yes, I’ll admit I was momentarily childish in my thinking. Still, His Spirit certainly touched my spirit in return, and I was reminded of that verse that tells us to receive the Kingdom of Heaven like a child.
Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:15
The seeds are ready to be airborne and fly into the sky. A perfect photo for Skywatch Friday.
The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything. ~Thomas Merton
I visited Longwood Gardens on Friday afternoon. The weather in our area was perfect: Autumn coolness and bright sunshine combined with glorious, colorful foliage. We decided to sit down and enjoy the fountain show. The time came when the music and fountains began to soar simultaneously. I was glad I had sunglasses on because I began to weep. The beauty of the classical music combined with the spectacular fountain show reminded me of heaven. I imagined how marvelous heaven will be. The sights, the sound of millions of souls singing praises to the Father, the Lamb, and the Holy Spirit. If earthly man can create such beauty, can you only imagine what God can do?
Here is a clip of a great song. I have this CD and I just love to listen to this song.
I missed seeing the Aurora Borealis in the sky over New Jersey, but thankfully, my son was outdoors cooking dinner on the grill and sent me these photos. This is southern New Jersey, not far from the city of Philadelphia. I’m hoping it will return.
I didn’t know until today that there is a website that gives forecasts for the Aurora Borealis.
30 Minute Aurora Borealis Forecast
Today, I bought a small pot of yellow daisies, which is, in reality, a daisy-like chrysanthemum, to place on my kitchen table for a few weeks. I love the shape of daisies, the colors, the variety. Other similar daisy-shaped flowers are gerberas, the common field daisy, aster daisies, echinaceas, and some dahlias. Horticulture Magazine has a list of 40 Daisy-Like Flowers with Growing Tips, I favorited the link.
The yellow daisy chrysanthemums are my choice for Cee’s Flower of the Day.
I’ve blogged several times about daisies. Here is a poster, or as the new tech age calls them, a meme using a daisy as a backdrop. For me, my first memory of daisies is this well-known rhyme. Did you know the rhyme originated in France and was originally a game? Wikipedia has a bit of its history.
Another Echinacea Daisy seemed a perfect backdrop for the word FAITH.
My family had two dogs named Daisy, and my grandmother had a goat of the same name. The little black poodle adding her blessing to my wedding party forty-seven years ago this month was named after the flower. I still miss her. What a sweetheart.
One Daisy I never met was Daisy McCormack. I found her watercolor either in a shop or at a yard sale. I’ve had it so long I can’t remember the origin. The painting is delicate and sweet, 4 ½ by 3 ½. It is beautifully framed. The writing on the back is neat and straight, describing the flowers and where they were found and ending with hand-painted by Daisy M. McCormack. Since I watercolor and have painted many flowers, I treasure her work even though I will never know her in this life. Judging by the color of the backing paper, the work is decades old.
The Daisy in the photograph, top row, third from the left, is someone I met only once. She was Aunt Daisy to my grandfather. When his mother passed away in the Spanish Flu epidemic, she left behind four children under nine. Aunt Daisy took my grandfather in during this terrible time. Once, when I was small, he took me to her home in the hills near Martinsville, Virginia. I am forever grateful to this kind aunt for nurturing my grandfather when he was only six. She lived to be 94, and I hope she was blessed her whole life for her kindness.
P.S. My great-grandfather is the young gentleman on the lower left.
Lastly, I include a favorite oldie of mine. Somehow, I know a lot of the words. Perhaps from listening so often as a child to Bing Crosby and Mitch Miller Sing-A-Long Records. (Yes, I do mean vinyl records.) My mother loved the voice of Nat King Cole, so this is for her.
I usually write short posts, but this one kept growing, as I hope my love for daisies will grow throughout my lifetime.
Cardinal Climber Vine ((Ipomoea × multifida) is my post for Cee’s Flower of the Day. These vines and the beautiful trumpet-shaped flowers blooming on them are some of the best flowers for a hummingbird garden.
Most of my garden plants have blooms that are waning. I don’t obsess over the lack of bloom because I see few bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds in October. The Cardinal Climber Vines bloomed late for me this year. I thought they were in a slump until a few weeks ago when they burst into dozens of blossoms. There is nothing timid about these flowers when they bloom; they are brilliant in color, and the stamen almost seems to glow like a spotlight beckoning hummingbirds to dive in for the nectar they contain.
Yesterday, I had an experience that I hope will stay a treasure in my spirit forever. I was bent down, turning off the hose nozzle, and when I stood, inches from me, a hummingbird was sipping nectar from the Cardinal Climber blooms. It seemed unaware of me, or perhaps in fueling up to return to warmer climates, was willing to risk my presence. I stood for several minutes, holding my breath, wanting to jump for joy as I listened to the buzz of the small bird’s wings and had the closest view ever of a hummingbird sipping nectar. I will never forget that magical moment in the garden.
The Spruce has information on how to grow Cardinal Climber Vines.
