Demented Squirrel

After we cleared out the wasp's nest under my porch rocker, I noticed that the red toile tablecloth on the little table on the porch was all in disarray.  I keep an arrangement of  fresh daisies in a zinc milk bottle carrier there.  The edges of the tablecloth were bunched up over the top of the table.

I thanked Bruce for spraying under the table for wasps, but he hadn't.  I chalked it up to the wind and yucky weather and fixed it pretty again.

We have some skinny little windows overlooking the porch that you see as you walk down the stairs.  I couldn't bear to replace them when we did all the other, more conventional windows.  Last night, Bruce was ahead of me as we walked down.  Looking those long, skinny windows, he said, "Look at THAT."

A squirrel was trying to pull my tablecloth off and take it with him!  He's the culprit who has been messing up my carefully staged front-porch table. The daisy arrangement was heavy enough that he couldn't pull it off completely.

Bruce shooed him away.  I put some cashews on the table, thinking to distract him.  Here, take some nuts and stop ripping holes in the tablecloth.  We went to the gym.

I feel like my front porch is embracing all nature or something...bird nests, wasps, and now a squirrel. I have an immigration problem right on my doormat.  Hey, go to some vacant house and knock yourself out...poop, make a nest, make honey, sting passersby...do what you do.  Do you really need to be right here at 256?

When we came back, he had tried to get that tablecloth again!  He must be a temperamental decorator squirrel trying to line his nest and appreciates toile.  Perhaps he is a lifestyle blogger squirrel.  He's tenacious, I'll give him that.

He left the cashews.  I feel stupid about that.  "Hey lady, I spit upon your cashews.  Give up the tablecloth!"

Second Post Today - A Recipe

I don't think I've ever posted a recipe here, but WOW did I have something yummy for dinner.  This is modified from a recipe in last Wednesday's New York Times.  It is simple that it is stupid, but boy did this taste GREAT.

Use homegrown tomatoes or some good beef steak tomatoes from a farm stand.  Swirl some olive oil on a large place and the juice of a half a lemon. Slice and salt the tomatoes and arrange on the plate.

Thinly slice an onion and separate the slices, arranging them on the tomatoes. Thinly slice a green bell pepper and do the same.    Scatter fresh basil leaves across the top.

Swirl some more lemon juice and olive oil on top  Grind on some black pepper.

Add stinky feta cheese with a generous hand.  Perhaps you didn't know that the official name for it is stinky feta cheese.  This is a little-known fact.

If you are kinda friendly with your co-diner, share the plate and use two forks.  If you're in the same mood I was tonight, you will repeat all over again and try to avoid the other guy's fork as you stab into the same tomato. .

Seriously sublime.

What Lies Beneath

Saturday started off in a peculiar fashion.  At about 2:30 a.m. I woke to the loud sound of something hitting the ground behind my house.  Simultaneously, I heard that strange electrical waving hum that heralds the electricity going off seconds later.  And so it did.  

I find the absence of noise bothersome.  I usually listen to a news station from NY City at night or a “white noise” application on my phone.  Utter silence doesn’t work for me.

I tossed and turned until daylight when we were still without electricity.  I was so happy to see a Virginia Dominion Power worker in a cherry picker bucket working beside a crepe myrtle in my side yard area. 

My genius husband made coffee by heating water on the gas stove and running the boiling water through our electric coffee maker.  It worked perfectly!  It would have been a grim morning indeed with no coffee. Some of the other neighbors wandering around all coffeeless kind of looked like zombies wanting to suck down my coffee instead of my brains.  And can I say, later on in IHOP, it looked like a Shea Terrace Civic League meeting.

As I stepped out to investigate, I saw this sad sight in front of old Mrs. Lambkin’s 1920’s home on Idlewood Avenue right behind me. I believe she went home to be with God not too long ago and this tree must have been as old as she was.

At first I thought it took a lightning hit.  However, a closer look showed no scorch marks.  Sadly, the tree was rotting from the inside out.  It had beautiful, silvery green leaves and looked just fine from the outside.  The inside was rotting with unattended disease.  Friday night to Saturday early morning was slightly windy and the poor tree just gave up the ghost.

I grieve every time we lose an old-growth tree, but I am thankful the old live oak came down in the middle of the night rather than on a busy daytime street with bikers, walkers, children, and dogs passing by.

Reflecting on that old fallen tree as we went on with plans away from the house with no power, I thought about when Jesus said:

Matthew 23:27

You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

All sorts of folks walk around each day like whitewashed tombs or like that dying old tree.  The outside can look great. That tree was leafed out in splendor.

Whatever is festering inside is not resolved.  The disease grows.  This dis-ease can be unaddressed long-term situations, acting without reflecting upon motives, unforgiveness, bitterness about our lot in life, family problems which we deny or ignore or dysfunctional relationships we would rather ignore than face the pain of fixing.  We engage in obsessions or in activities to mask thinking about the problem.  We prop ourselves up any way we can as long as we don't have to deal with the underlying issue.  A drug of choice doesn’t always have to be an actual opiate. We hurt others in the process. 

Left to grow untreated, the rot at the core can literally kill us via high-blood pressure, heart disease, etc.  We can also kill relationships, dashing our own hopes and creativity in the process.  Finally, like the tree, all comes tumbling down and we are lucky if others aren’t hit in the process.

Get rid of whatever is festering inside.  Talk to a wise friend.  Give it to God and let Him clean it out.  Whatever you do, don’t leave it there.

And speaking of getting rid of stuff, do you like my new porch décor?  After such a weird day, imagine sinking into a nice porch rocker only to learn that wasps built a hive underneath!  I'll take stinging insects for $1,000, Alex.

Joni Eareckson - Soaring with Wings as Eagles

What can I say about Joni Eareckson Tada, which hasn't already been said?  Well, I guess I can talk about what a personal inspiration she is to me.  I remember before I knew God (instead of just knowing His name) I would read her books with longing to have a relationship with Him like she did.  I particularly remember one morning when I was so hungover that eating Grape Nuts sounded like an explosion in my head, but I kept reading.

She was one of a number of "seeds" planted in my past which finally bore fruit when I was in my mid-twenties.  Joni has continued to inspire me all these years with her courage, good humor, faith, and talents.

A few years ago, Joni faced cancer with the same steadfastness and inspired me all over again.

She's been cured, thanks be to God, and cancer free.  Joni and hubster, Ken, both work together in her non-profit, Joni and Friends.  Among other things, Joni and Friends sponsors camps for children with disabilities and their caretakers.

Check out her webpage and look at the video of Joni LITERALLY soaring like an eagle.  I'd be scared to do with WITH my arms and legs working  Watch a breathtaking demonstration of the Lord being our strength.

Love her, pray that God will continue to bless her, and thank Him for all she continues to do.  You GO, Girl!

Joni flies like an eagle

The Persistence of Memory - Redeem the Time

I was a real rebel (smirk) in my teens.  I'd cut out of school all the time to do risky teenage things to thumb my nose at my parents.  Uh,....not so much.  I would, indeed, cut out of school - which I found boring and not suited to my type of learning.  I'd take a train into New York City and smoke dope in a park?  Nope! Try to score some weed in Morningside Heights?  Ut uh!

I took time off from school without permission to (GASP) visit museums  I would learn by myself at the Museum of National History, the Museum of Modern Art, Lincoln Center (magnificent paintings by Marc Chagall adorn the inside), the Guggenheim, the Frick Collection, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I marveled over the exhibit of Monet's years in his beloved Giverny.

Giverny

I loved that he painted as he did because he was so nearsighted...just like me.  I contemplated the differences between El Greco's "Crucifixtion" and Salvador Dali's painting of the same name from 400 years later.

"Rebel" that I was, I daresay I learned many more useful things that I would have in Mr. Vene's math class, which I detested.  I bet I am the only Ward Melville High School kid who cut classes to go to museums. In fact, I spoke with Jim Pew, my co-worker from Long Island,  who took the same opportunity to eat buttered bagels and drink warm "appropriated" Heinekens.  Don't tell his Mom.

One of the most fascinating paintings I ever saw is the one pictured above, Dali's "The Persistence of Memory."  Seeing paintings on the Internet doesn't hold a paintbrush to actually standing before the work and seeing the strokes of paint.  This is particularly interesting with Monet, to see up close that which seems abstract, then to back up and see the dots that coalesce into beauty,  Your heart breaks for Vincent, so tortured that it emerges from the thick smears of paint he flung onto canvas from a palette knife.

God gives us such amazing talents.  Some of this emerges in paintings like both Crucifixions or Michelangelo's magnificent work showing Adam just missing the hand of God.  Sister Wendy used her talent to become a major art critic by reading books and post cards depicting great artistic works.

Interview Sister Wendy Beckett

She is delightful.

But back to the Persistence of Memory.

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.…Ephesians 15 and 16.

The painting illustrates this verse for me.  I love the concept of redeeming time, which is found in the King James version. Other versions say "make the most of" time,  I like concept of redeeming time a lot better. We redeem time, by making the most of it, by taking advantage of all our opportunities to work for the Lord.

The clocks have become distorted and are slipping away, which (along with the desolate wasteland surrounding them) illustrates unredeemed time.

The late Stephen Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People) talks about time in quadrants as follows:

*Urgent and important (someone has to go to the ER)
*Urgent and not important particularly (someone is calling or knocking on the door)
*Important, but not urgent (Bible study, planning your next month or week, learning a new skill) and
*Not urgent and not important (gossipy phone calls, watching Law and Order reruns, stewing, fretting, worrying, thinking about hurt feelings, regretting the past, being angry with folks you believe spitefully used you).

Covey calls the last quadrant a "quadrant of waste."

Stephen Covey

Dali should have called his painting "The Quadrant of Waste" instead,  He's picturing unredeemed time in a wasteland.

Children of Light:  "Redeem the time, because the days are evil."

...And just for fun "The Persistence of Cookie"

Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C

Saturday Treasures

We often take a country drive on Saturdays.  This time, we headed up north on the back country roads.

Yorktown has a great vintage store called Auntie YaYa's, where I found an old stepladder.  I've been wanting to find one reasonably priced for the longest time.  The ones I'd seen in the fancier, upscale antique stores were over $40 and all "rigged out," so to speak.  The one I bought was an honest little step ladder, unembellished, for an honest little price.  I can embellish for myself.  I "shopped my house" for the little items on the stepladder.  

We kept driving up to the Northern Neck area of Virginia, to Mathews County, another favorite, old-timey spot.   Doodle Bugs is a sweet little vintage place, also reasonably priced.  I think my suitcase "coffee table" is now complete with the help of the blue suitcases holding the magazines.

This picture makes it look like the world's longest coffee table.  It isn't, it is less than half the length of the couch,

I had to bring this beautiful cross-stitched table topper home for the living room corner where we often eat or work on our laptops.

The owner must have used some liquid starch on this.  I haven't seen it used in years.  I think I could have stood up the tablecloth on one side by itself it was so stiff,.  It did enhance the blue stitching so beautifully.

At one point, we were about 35 miles from home at Yorktown where General Cornwallis surrendered, ending the Revolutionary War.  Imagine our surprise to find our friend and neighbor, Neil, riding down the street.  Neil, say hi.  I am not sure which one of us was the most surprised to see the other so far from the neighborhood.

We headed home about 4 p.m.  I spent the evening fussing around to get everything in its proper place.

Cool Free Feature for an Android Phone

Bruce is always coming up with all these amazing programs for the computer and our Android phones.  For instance, last year when he was teaching at college, they needed a level for a project.  Everyone is looking around for one.  Bruce downloads a program which turns his cell phone into a level.  He has a flashlight program that turns the phone into...you guessed it.  His phone, plugged into the car radio, reads him Scripture while he drives to work.  Another program plays different sounds to help encourage sleeping (not while driving, of course)..everything from rainstorms to city traffic.  I'm the one who likes the city traffic sounds.  All of the applications he chooses are free of charge.

I think he outdid himself with the latest one, called Sketch Guru.  This turns photos into various kinds of artwork.  He took a pic from a July 12 blog entry honoring my sister's birthday.  Using the "colored pencil" function, he turned it into the sketch above.  I just love the detail on the old milk bottle with the cow on it!

I think I'll keep him!  He also makes great coffee and a mean egg sandwich,.

Refurbished Kitchen Cabinet

Inspiration Picture

Before Picture

After picture

The little picture in the middle is decoupaged in place.  My mother-in-law gave it to us years ago.  The colors are just wonderful.  It is an instruction on proper canning techniques in a delightfully 1930's typeface,  I've never really known what to do with it until now.  Click to enlarge the picture and see it better.

The Phone

I have had a black, rotary dial phone in my kitchen for ages.  The phone was from the late sixties.  I've been looking for a reasonably priced older phone from the WW II era for several years.  The refurbished ones are advertised for well over $200 and I won't spend that much.

We spied a nice one for less than a quarter of that, but it didn't work.  Bruce tinkered with it over the weekend and voila...here it is in use!

Oh, oops, here it is in another red head's hands: a Western Electric Model 302, patented in 1939.  In 1941, Western Electric changed the phones from painted metal to plastic for the war effort  Mine is the 1941 version

Years ago on Long Island, New York my Grandmother Dunn had a phone number which was expressed in both letters and numbers.  The letter exchanges stopped before I was born, but Nana continued to say something like this well into my teenage years: "This is Mrs. James Dunn and my phone number is Myrtle-4 5696, that's MY4-5696.  The actual number was 694-5696.

The number on the round dial in the middle of her phone still had the letter exchange,  This fascinated me as a kid for some reason.  I shared this with Bruce who set up the phone like this at our house:

Here's the phone in place on top of a kitchen cabinet:

Those wonderful spice containers were a birthday present from my amazing sister.  It is a little known fact, but she was one of the original Spice Girls.  Kerry was Ironic Spice.  You probably haven't heard about her unless you're a really big fan.  Posh Spice used to stand in front of her all the time.

A Day in Smithfield and My New Kitchen Counters

Smithfield Virginia (where they make the world famous Smithfield ham) is about 20 minutes away from us. The flavor is very much small-town America, with patriotic concerts on the lawn of their local paper Smithfield was founded in 1752 and many of the gorgeous old homes have been lovingly preserved,  They have such a sweet little shopping district.  After doing a bunch of mundane errands, such as buying my hair dye (ssssshhhh that's a secret) and printer cartridges, we decided to sneak away to Smithfield.

I this attorney's name always cracks me up.  Seriously?

Well, I guess he's being totally up front about who he is right from the start!

The dairy feed circular, metal advertising sign was purchased at Wharf Hill Antiques in Smithfield.  The owner has quite the discerning eye.  I feel inspired every time I stop by.

Wharf Hill Antiques Smithfield Virginia

They don't pay me to blog about them, nor do I receive a discount of any type. I just love the store.

Adorable gingerbreaded cottage in Smithfield.

This one is Bruce's favorite.

Smithfield dress shop.

Happy Birthday, Dear Karensa July 13

My sister, Kerry, is the best!  She is a wonderful wife, sister, daughter, and mom.  Her deep faith inspires me every time I speak with her.  Kerry is a peace maker.  She's a problem solver.  Kerry has a true servant's heart.  The world believes that 13 is an unlucky number. Not my sister...she is as blessing to everyone who knows her.

Click on the pic if you can't quite see the words here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KERRY.  I LOVE YOU LOTS AND LOTS!

The Sweetest Kitchen Cabinet EVER

From Flea Market Decor magazine...the Get Organized Issue:

Oh my gosh, but I think this is SO ADORABLE!

My own similar cabinet is looking more shabby than chic!  Guess what I'm working on this weekend?

Here is my more shabby than chic current cabinet.  It is quite similar, but no feet on it.

Flea Market Gardening Vintage Bike

I've been looking for a vintage bike for FOREVER to put in a certain area in my front yard.  I have a red vintage bike which I adore, but I ride around on it!  I've seen vintage bikes around here and there for over one hundred bucks...I don't THINK so, as Julia Sugarbaker on Designing Women used to say (God rest Dixie Carter's soul....LOVE HER.)  Julia rants

I put the word out that I was looking for an old, broken-down bike for cheap or nothing.  Cheap is good, free is better, as a boss of mine used to say.  About a month later, a black, broken down bike with no gears was leaning against my front porch when I came home last week. The tires were flat, which suited me just fine because it doesn't need to go anywhere,

I painted it bright red (I should buy stock in Rustoleum) and found a basket for under $5 at Walmart.  It isn't a bike basket per se, but rather a wire basket that we attached to the handle bars with cable tie wraps.  I couldn't find a used bike basket anywhere and the cheapest I saw on line was $10 before shipping cost.  The pinwheels are from the Dollar Store.

This picture was a mistake as a put my cell phone in my pocket prior to the pinwheel addition .  When I looked at it, I kind of liked it.   The house you see is the Craftsman bungalow next door, which was once the mother-in-law's house for mine and was originally part of my property.

Rushing Over the Bridge

So the other day, I was riding as a passenger across this bridge and was impatient to be on my way to the Peninsula.  Surely this couldn't be Busch Gardens traffic.  We were nearly 40 miles away.  If it was Busch Gardens, we were in for a bumpy ride.  I was hungry for lunch, blah blah blah...

The traffic started up again and I remembered (feeling a little foolish) that this was a draw bridge and this hand to sail underneath with its tall mast:

How often do we do just what I did, only about less tangible things than draw bridges and boats?  When the job interview that seemed to go so well doesn't lead to a job, do we want to jump on ahead?  When a new relationship seems so right, only there's just this little thing about it that doesn't seem Biblical, do we want to rush on in and then feel a stab of disappointment when it ends?

God orders our days perfectly.  Since there is only NOW anyway, we must learn to be content, thankful, and joyful right where we are, lest we hurry on ahead and find the draw bridge open under our feet.

My times are in Your hands.

Psalm 31:15

The eternal God is your Refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. 

Deuteronomy 33:27

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord.  "Plans to prosper you...plans to give you a hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

Alexandria VA - Flowers and Exquisite Grounds

I love this brick pathway.  We are building a little one in the cottage garden.

I wish it had been a less hazy day last Saturday, but it was delightfully cool for walking.

Walking in Alexandria

Alexandria, Virginia is one amazing place...full of history and plenty to enjoy today.  When you visit Alexandria, you don't just get to see something about General Robert E.Lee, you see Robert E. Lee's father's house.  His name was Harry "Lighthorse" Lee.

Some rows are brick, some are wood frame

I'm not sure which I like better.

Here's a secluded porch right on the street, with some wonderful geraniums.

The shopping and residential areas are side by side, but each business has to conform to standards to "fit their architecture in."  I'm all over that.  We don't need a Wal-Mart here.

Some of the brick looks like it has been in place since the 1700's.

I can't figure out who would have used this tiny door - hobbits?

Walking Through My Friend, Sue's, Yard

This is my friend Sue's house.  Sue never met a stranger.  We met years and years ago when I was walking dogs who now live in heaven. We became friends when she was helping one of my offenders.  She is an amazing person who began a career as an artist after she turned 50.  Her house and property are magical.

She lives along Owens Creek, actually part of the same creek system that I live along, which feeds into the Elizabeth River.

This is a chippy blue green desk out in the backyard.

Some gorgeous hydrangeas growing along the fence.

Figs out in the backyard...Jesus doesn't need to curse these, they're being productive!