Phantom of The Opera

Shortly before we left our church in California, I held a Women's Ministries meeting based on Phantom of The Opera.

One of the tablescapes.

SNOW DAY!

This morning, just before I woke up, I was dreaming that my yard was beautifully green. I woke up suddenly, looked out the window, and, instead of seeing green, it was SNOWING! I sat up and yelled "IT'S SNOWING!" I've been in the snow lots of times, but I've only seen the snow actually coming down, one other time. Now I live where it snows! Guess this So. Calif. girl needs to buy some REAL winter clothing or I'll freeze my patootie off! Will post snow pix later, as right now, the camera battery is charging.

TTNT, B

Well,it's been over two years since my last post. MUCH has happened! I have not fully recovered from the stroke, but I have made significant progress.
I no longer live in So. California. We have moved to the rip-roarin' town of Poteau, Oklahoma. We came here to take advantage of Choctaw Health Care for me. We left our church, family and home and moved, with our four cats, half way across the country. We now have a new church, other family members, and a new home. It's been very difficult, but we are adjusting.
It's been so long since I've blogged, I couldn't remember how to access my blog, but finally figured it out. Typing is good therapy, so I will try to post often.
TTFN,
B

Still "Incapacitated

Today marks 2 months, 1 week, and 5 days since the stroke hit ne. I wanted to be tracking my progress here on my blog but there hasn't been much to write about.
I'n still typing with one finger. Hubs got me a program that is voice-actvated so
Icsan IM easier, only I don't know how to operate it and Ialready have to disturb "H"uubs enough for necessary things that I hate to assk him for things that aren't necssary.

I am still in the wheelchair as I am unable to walk, but my speech has improved and my blood pressure is finally down so
I'n hoping to be able to return to physical therapy this week.
To "Anonymous"that writes to me in a foreign language: Please write your comments in English:
I appreciate you writing to me and would love to be able to read your notes and get to know you.
To anyone who is a follower of my blog: Please know that
I appreciate you taking the time to read my humble little blog, but for some reasone the followers' names don't show up on ny computer, so please let me know if you are one of the fllowers.
To each of youy who have been praying for me; THANK YOU AND PLEASE CONTINE. Ican feel your prayers and "Icontinue to believe that God will completly heal me.
This has been one of the hardest trials I'ne ever had to go thru and I know it's because of the prayers of my friends and family that I'm still here and still trusting God for a miracle. Ilook forward to hearing from each of you. Til next time...

Stroked!

Sorry I've been away so long, I've been incapacitated by a steroke on May 2nd. I spent 3 1/2 weeks in the hospital(my first time ever to hospitalized) and I don't have very good use of my left hand, soI am typing everything with one hand. Iwon't be postin for a while but will be reading, so please leave me comments.
I wll still be treading all your blogs, but pleaase understand why i'm not commenting Hope to be back soon!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to anyone of my, er, um, former(?) followers, that is, if you still bother to come over to my blog. I just realized it's been almost 3 weeks since I've posted anything. And I was doing to so good at posting something every day. Okay, so I blew it. But, here I am today, on this beautiful sunny day in So. Cal., to say Happy Easter, Happy Resurrection Day to all of you!
Today's service was awesome! The church was pretty full with regulars and visitors alike. But the most important person there was Jesus! His Spirit was so prevalent during the whole service. Everyone "sensed" it. From the first note of the first song during worship, the anointing was there. Such a wonderful presence of the Lord could be felt throughout the whole worship service. Then the choir presented the program we've been working on for the past 2 months. They did an outstanding job. We had a couple of technical difficulties, but they overcame, and were awesome!
Across the street from our church is a small park. Every year, our Children's Ministries workers take the kids over to the park for an Easter Egg Hunt. Today was no different, with the exception of this: The workers had just finished hiding all the egss and they were about to take the kids out, when, all of a sudden, the park's sprinklers came on! Never before, in the history of us using this park on Easter Sunday, has this happened. And I'm talkin' 22 years now!
One would think this might put a damper on the festivities for the kids, but not so! They didn't care - they just wanted those eggs. I was told that one little girl, who was all dressed up in a frilly dress, looked at the teacher and said, "It's just water. I'll dry!" and bee-lined it into the middle of the grass area, sprinklers and all. I think it turned out to be one of the most fun egg hunts they've ever had!
So, it turned out to be a great day, in all points. Thank You, Jesus, for going to the cross for mankind, and me in particular, and that You rose from the dead in triumphant victory. Thank You, Jesus, for pouring out Your Spirit on us and blessing us with Your presence!

Tablescape Thursday

Go to Susan's blog at Between Naps on the Porch for more beautiful and creative tablescapes.
Last week I posted pictures of my church's women's group's "Spring Fling" from last year. Today I am showing this year's "Springtime".
This first picture is an overview of the entire room.

We used to always set the long banquet-style table side by side, but lately we've been forming them into a U-shape, so that no one has their back to anyone else when we're seated.
I used white tablecloths, and skirted the inside of the U-shape, then put the centerpieces and decorations along the inside edge of the U.

I used green placemats with wicker "chargers" and pink plates. The green napkins and pink tableware sat in the individual "napkin thingy" holders I made.


All the chairs were covered in white, with alternating pink and green ties. Pink and green tulle, topped by silk ivy made the runners. I used glass cylinder candle holders with green candles, and little votive cups from the 99 Cent Store held miniature bouquets of silk roses and hydrangeas. I made three "scenes" in jars for the centerpieces - each contained a birdhouse, birdnest and a music scroll that had the words "His Eye Is On The Sparrow".


This is a tea cart that sits behind the banquet tables.


The food table had my large decorated-with-bird-things birdcage as the centerpiece, and tall silver buckets of fuschia, green, and white gerbera daisies flanked the ends.


Tomorrow I'll have pics of the cute "nest" things I made, as well as the rest of the yummy food the ladies made, on Foodie Friday. Stay tuned!

Been doing ancestry search lately. Last night I found this picture of my paternal great great grandmother (she's the one on the left).

She lived in the mid-1800's. This, so far, is the only picture I have of any of my ancestors on my father's side.
I love doing ancestry research. I've been spending mass quantities of time on it lately. I love mysteries and doing this research is like solving a mystery. When I find new information, it almost makes me cry. I don't know why it affects me like that, but it does. It makes me wonder what these people were like, why they lived in the places they did, etc. My ancestors from my mother's side of the family originated in Georgia, but ended up in Oklahoma Indian Territory, and intermarried with the Choctaw Indians. Why did they leave Georgia? Why did they settle in Oklahoma? Many questions, but not nearly enough answers to satisfy my curiosity. So, I continue to search and make contact with other relatives, and, little by little, I get more answers to my questions.

It's A Special Day Today

Not only do Brenda @ It's All Good and I share the same name, but we also share the same anniversary date, just one year apart. And, today is also my friend Laura's birthday. So, that makes today's date pretty special! Happy Annivesary to Brenda & Hubby, and Happy Birthday to Laura!

29 Years and Counting

Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary, Ha-a-a-py Anniversary! Does anyone remember Fred Flinstone singing that to Wilma? I think the tune is William Tell Overture. Anyhow, today is #29 for Hubby & Me. It's pretty amazing we made it this long. There've been times for both of us when we wondered if we would last. But, thanks to the Lord being the center of our lives, and our marriage, we have made it. So, Happy Anniversary, honey. I love you! :-)
P.S. This is the same pic from last year. We haven't taken any new ones together. I know, I know...sad, but true. lol

Nesting

Yesterday, all day, I was busy "nesting", or making nests, that is. I made these cute little "nest" cupcakes for the women's meeting today.

I also made these little nests out of chow mein noodles and they will be filled with egg salad, also for the women's meeting.

I will be serving mini pita pockets filled with alfalfa sprouts and chicken salad. They, too, will look like little nests.
On yesterday's post, I showed you the "before" of this stand, and today, you get to see the "after". I painted the whole thing white, and made the little flower bouquet to go inside the hole where the handle was missing. I lined it with paper doilies, because I'll be serving those little egg salad "nests" on this piece.

I think it definately looks better white than black. But, should I change my mind, all it takes is a can of spray paint ($1 buckeroo at WalMart), and badda-bing, badda-boom, it can be black again (or any other color I get a "hankerin" for).
For all the pics of today's women's meeting, check back on Thursday for Tablescape Thursday. In the very near future, I'll be starting another blog, exclusively for pictures and information from our women's group. But until then, I'll keep posting them here.

Just Some Stuff

A few months back I had broken one of my apothocary jars. I had taken it to a friend's house to use for a party. We decided not to use it, so I set it down on the carpeted floor next to my purse, to grab it when I left. I accidentally kicked it over and it broke (how this happened on a very thick carpeted floor I have no idea, but it did.) I saved the jar and the lid, thinking I might somehow glue it back together, which I never got around to trying, and it probably would have looked very bad had I done it. Here's what it looked like:

A couple of days ago, I went by one of my favorite stores in town that was in the process of moving to a new location, and I found the same jar that I needed, only with no lid, and it was reduced for clearance at $12.95 with 75% off. Since I knew as soon as I saw it that my lid would fit perfectly, I snapped that baby up in a heartbeat. I paid a whopping $3.25, and no sales tax. Here's the new jar, without the lid:

And here it is, with it's new, perfectly fitting lid:

I also bought this serving stand. I didn't realize until I started to paint it, that it was bent in places, but since it is wire, it was an easy fix. I also noticed that it's missing a handle at the top. I figured that's okay, because I will stick some flowers in the hole. I painted it white, but haven't taken pics of it's new paint job yet, so taht will come later.

And here's a pic of the finished birdhouses I was working on last week. I made a scroll out of music scrapbook paper, and wrote on it "His Eye Is On The Sparrow". I got the cute little nest at Joann's and put them all into one of my apothocary jars, with grass. There are three of them and they are the centerpieces for our ladies' meeting this coming Saturday.

Tax Time - Blech!!!

So, today I've been working on getting all my receipts together for Hubs, so he can get the tax stuff ready. I am not very consistent at filing, so my receipts were all over the place and in no kind of order. The only consistent thing is that I had about a gazillion receipts from Michael's. But I finally got them all collected, put in order, and labeled as to what category they fall under for tax purposes. The bummer is that I also had about a gazillion receipts that are not tax deductible, so that's a big bummer. (Note to self: buy stock in Michael's. Then if purchases are not tax deductible, at least your paying into your own stock. lol)
On a brighter note, I have some pics to put up, but have to put them on the computer first, and before I can do that, I have to charge the battery in my camera. So hopefully, I'll get that all done tonight and be able to put up pics tomorrow. At the store in my town that moved and had the 75% off sale, I was able to make a couple of really great purchases. That's what I want to show you all.
Okay, I'm tired from all that tax stuff - it taxes my brain. I don't like it when I have to think too hard about things that I don't like to think about. Does anyone else feel that way, too? I'm sure you're out there, whoever you are. :-) Check back tomorrow and hopefully I'll have my pics up.

Tablescape Thursday

Today I am posting pictures from last year's "Spring Fling", our women's group from church.


I made these "napkin thingys" out of scrapbook paper. I found the pattern online, and cut them all out, made the little bows. I had found a stamp at Michael's in their Dollar Bins that said Spring Fling, so I stamped it onto the green round and glued them to the fronts.

I got these topiaries at Joann's after Easter for 60% off. They had purple eggs, so I painted them pink and added in some pink and green flowers to match the color scheme.

I bought these boxes at the 99 Cent Store, wrapped them in decorative paper and glued them on top of each other with ribbon and a little bird's nest at the top. They flanked the food table.

Here's the buffet table:


I also made this cute little cake with a bird's nest on top:

This coming Saturday, our women's group is having a "Springtime" Brunch, again with a pink & green color scheme. However, the tablescapes and other decor will be quite different, so I'll post it next week for Tablescape Thursday.
For more yummy tablescapes, be sure to stop by Susan's, at Between Naps On The Porch.

Instructions

On Sears hair dryer: Do not use while sleeping.

On a bag of Fritos: You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.

On a bar of Dial soap: Directions: Use like regular soap.

On some Swanson frozen dinners: Serving suggestions: Defrost.

On Marks and Spencer Bread Pudding: Product will be hot after heating.

On packaging for a Rowenta iron: Do not iron clothes on body.

On Nytol Sleep Aid: Warning: May cause drowsiness.

On most brands of Christmas lights: For indoor or outdoor use only.

On Sainsbury's peanuts: Warning: Contains nuts.

On a child's Superman costume: Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly.

On shin pads for cyclists: Shin guards cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover.

On a take away coffee cup: Caution: Hot beverages are hot.

On the bottom of a cola bottle: Do not open here.

Rules on a tram: Beware! To touch these wires is instant death. Anyone found doing so will be persecuted.

On a can of air freshener: For use by trained personnel only.

On a bottle of baby lotion: Keep away from children.

On a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle: Some assembly required.

On a can of pepper spray used for self defense: May irritate eyes.

Directions for mosquito repellant: Replacing battery: replace old battery with a new one.

On a birthday card for a one year old: Not suitable for children aged under 36 months or less.

On a toilet cleaning brush: Do not use orally.

On a TV remote: Not Dishwasher safe.

On a washing machine in a launderette: No small children.

In a dishwasher manual: Do not allow children to play in dishwasher.

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

Then you're probably the family dog.

And you thought I was going to get all spiritual with this, huh?!
Have a great day!

A Little Birdie Told Me

Today I've been preparing for a meeting tomorrow at church for our Children's Ministries. But I squeezed in a little bit of time to do this birdhouse, which will be used in the centerpieces for next week's ladies' meeting. The birdhouses (there will be 3 altogether) will be paired with a small nest of eggs, plus a music scroll from His Eye Is On The Sparrow, and the whole thing will be under glass in jars. At least that's what I'm planning. The "thinking" behind the decor of this little house was to try to match it as closely as possible to the napkin thingys I made earlier this week.

More Brenda's Wise Buys

I didn't get to participate in Tablescape Thursday this week, so I'm posting pics of my sale finds from yesterday. I went to a store here in town that I frequent alot. They are in the process of moving to a new location, so everything left in the store is 60% - 75% off. I got these, tax included, for $27 buckeroos!


The birdnest will be a perfect accent to the decorations for next week's Women's Ministries meeting, and the 3-tiered stand just "tickled my fancy" so I bought it.
By next Thursday, the tablescapes should be completed for our WM and I'll post the pics for Tablescape Thursday.

Another "Napkin Thingy"

So, yesterday I posted pictures of stuff that I had bought at Michael's to use next week at our ladies' meeting. Today, I made the "napkin thingys". They turned out so cute. I amazed myself at how good they look. Hubs asked if the idea was my own or if I got it somewhere else. It's all my idea and my design. The little perch on the front of the birdhouse is a piece of toothpick that I cut and glued in place. The "roof" is made of ribbon that I hand-cut each piece to fit and then glued in place. They are velcro'd onto the boxes that I got in packages of 12 at the Dollar Tree store. Ya gotta love that place. I get the best random things there. But, I digress - here's the finished product, sans the napkins and tableware.

Without God

Received this email today...thought it was a good one.

Without GOD, our week would be:

Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday,
Thirstday, Fightday & Shatterday.

If you are not ashamed of GOD, pass it on.