to, too, and two

The word "TO" indicates an action toward something or someone. It also indicates an intention or result as in 'I'll drink to your health'. It has another meaning also and that is in time- 'a quarter to three'. There are several other definitions to the word TO.. these are a few.

The word "TOO" can mean besides.. or also.. as in 'you can come too'. It also indicates something done or occuring to an excessive degree as in "too many people". "too much gravy"

The word "TWO" is always a number.

temptation

Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience.
And God is faithful.
He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it.
When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

How can a young person stay pure?
By obeying your word and following its rules.
Psalm 119:9 NLT

Foto Friday.. Squares

This is so crazy.. I got so engrossed in snow and then doing nothing much today other than making soup.. I forgot it was Friday!!! So I'm a little late..
Sorry..
I believe the topic this week was SQUARES.. so here we go..

Please feel free to jump right in to our Foto Fridays at Rebecca's Blog..

Rambling..

Here we go again.. more snow, more drifting.. ugh! The bright spot is that spring is right around the corner and I can hardly wait!
Green leaves and grass.. flowers blooming and the warm breezes that follow. Beautiful thoughts..

We are getting cable. Cable tv/internet/phone service. We opted to keep our new phone number rather than learn yet another one. Wendell is excited at the prospect of being able to watch a whole tv program without interuption by poor reception from the little box that sits atop it.
I'm more into fast speed on the computer. Oh, I thought broadband was wonderful, but John says the cable internet is sooooo much better. They got theirs this past week. Wendell and I are patient- you learn that over the years ... hmmmm... except where spring is concerned !

We are drifted in this morning. We'll call for a plow out tomorrow. The snowfall really isn't that bad for a WPA winter- 4" and continuing to fall. The bad part is the drifting as the wind is blowing and making life difficult. Well, I just think that my ancestors had it a lot worse.
They didn't have to worry about downed electric lines or phone lines.. nor did they have to worry about what to do while they are waiting to be reconnected... like READ maybe? Though Wendell is an avid reader- he makes trips to the local library every week or so and always has a book nearby. We figure if the power goes out, we'll be just fine.. lots of blankets available, lots of water in the big jugs and we can use the gas range to cook/boil water or whatever.

Low on eggs here. The chickens aren't laying yet, and I don't see us getting out today.. and the car is down here at the house and not up on the hill beyond the drifts. Sigh. Looks like Charlie has made it down the driveway- walking. He is faithful in tending the 'girls'.. they really have it made.
The cat is not wanting to come out of the little building and his warm straw in a trash bag. I really can't blame him. He came up once this morning, gobbled down some cat food, slurped up a drink and took off for the building again.. it's cold for him too. Wish I could invite him in the house, but I can't. Asthma would be too much to handle right now. I got it settled a week or so ago, and don't want to start wheezing before spring.

The land line rang a few minutes ago.. no clue who it might be.. I couldn't get there in time and Wendell was back in the bathroom. By the time I hurried across the house to answer it, whoever was there, wasn't any more.
I prefer the cell phone if anyone wants to call. Normally I have it in my pocket or close by. Occasionally not..

I've rambled on enough.. gotta get something accomplished here today. I vacuumed yesterday and washed clothes the day before.. hmmm.. maybe open up some more boxes? Nah.. lunch is on the horizon..

On a more positive note

Have you ever had someone pray over you and you actually FELT the change ? I went to bed shortly after I made my last blog note and then a note on Face Book. It is 3am. I awoke at 2am needing to be on my feet. I rolled over in bed, sat up, and became acutely aware of the fact that I didn't have the pain of last evening.. gone. I set aside the quad cane I'd been using and walked normally to the bathroom-
Who can explain these things except knowing that family and friends had been praying for my relief. I am in awe when I realize the power of prayer over one of God's children. I am blessed.
I will be making appointments to see the specialists and to have that MRI done. I can do this.

This is probably going to sound very negative, but I'm going to blog it anyway. I am taking a one month leave of absence from the office. I intend to see a rheumatologist, get an MRI of my back, and perhaps visit a pain clinic.
I dont' really want to leave the office, but I fear that's what is coming. Office days are wonderful with the patients, but when I leave and go home, I can't walk .. and when I do, I hurt. It's off the chart on the pain scale.. so, I feel this is a good thing in a way, and perhaps I will retire finally all the way. Sometimes God has to give me a BIG nudge.. and I'm feeling it.

just venting....

My thoughts are scattered today.. I'm irritated with the chickens. They are more bold than any other animal around here... or maybe just dumber. Twice today I've had to clean chicken doo off the back deck. It's disgusting. Not just one spot, but 3-4 at a time.. and on the railing.. aaackkkk! I think Charlie is going to have to keep the door to the outside closed. I can't stand this mess.
What's worse, they are eating the cat's food and into his water. What I mean is they stand in the cat's water dish and then it's undrinkable. Poor Thomas....

He looks a bit irritated here. I'd just chased 6 chickens off the deck and his bowl is filthy.

Hoping someone will take the chickens soon.

Ya gotta love it

Thomas has settled in pretty well with us. Here he comes up the snow path to the deck. He saw me come outside.. I have the camera. I have to laugh when I ponder the funny and fun stuff that I've experienced the past few days.. like Wendell who says 'we don't NEED a CAT!'.... "if you feed him he will NEVER leave."... "maybe you should buy him a bag of cat food"... "do you think he'll go inside that box you made him?"... and then tonite he told me that Thomas was so loud outside.. like he was in a fight- and that he'd run outside to see if he was okay.. tee hee.. looks like I'm not the only one who has fallen in love with this little black boy. He's so adorable.

This afternoon I bought him a kitty dish with 2 'holes'. One for his Meow Mix and one for water. I gave him a cup of food and he gobbled it right down.. and then a cup of warm water- it's gone too.

We have an opossum that tried to eat the feed I put out on the snow beyond the deck. It was for Thomas, but the opossum - big one- comes nightly and eats all that Thomas doesn't. Last night Thomas growled and hissed and made such a fuss ..... while hiding behind me. I had to laugh at this brave little kitty.

This is the styrofoam house I put together for him.. one of my patients told me how to construct it for a cat house. He's been in and out of it this evening, but when I looked out a while ago, he's gone back to the little building and his bag of straw- can't blame him much.

He spends time on the deck by his bowl- looks like he's guarding it, lest any chicken or 'possum tries to approach. Funny cat.

I know I'm sensitive to cats.. I wonder if Thomas is the cause of my early asthma problems this morning and last evening. I try to NOT touch him, but he winds himself between my feet.. I had to use the nebulizer this morning. I could feel it rattling in my chest and the coughing had started. The Xopenex does wonders for that problem- haven't had any problem since my treatment, but the side effects are lasting.. not right now, but for hours and it seems hours.. jitteriness.. shaking, and that feeling that I better sit/lay down before I fall down.

So I got little accomplished today. Laundry, yes; floors, no, but I worked on them yesterday; dishes are done, but still need put away; well fed cat, YES!

And I did some mending.

FOTO FRIDAY HEARTS

Today is Foto Friday.. the topic is 'hearts'.. appropriate for this past week since Valentine Day was on Sabbath. I was hard pressed for imagination since I haven't been out much except to shovel snow, and I assure you, there are few hearts in the snow..
Join us at Rebecca's blog for Foto Friday.. lots of fun and challenging!

I am disappointed that this heart didn't show the writing better.. maybe should have used Macro setting??

Thomas the cat

Here kitty kitty..... I guess when one feeds a homeless cat, it then becomes their property.. for evermore. Charlie was down to feed chickens and I asked if this was one of his cats.. no... not his..
I told him I'd name the cat if I knew what gender it was.. he says..'oh, it's a Tom".. and so, we now have a cat dubbed Thomas. If he decides to move on, that's fine with us. In the mean time, I'll put a little food out for him so he won't starve .. and he has been nesting either with the chickens or in the little storage building (in the hay).

We got out today. I think this is the first Wendell has been out in 2 weeks or more. Snow is melting.. but we have so much, who would know?
The trailer repair guy is to come tomorrow to fix a gap in the siding we noticed a few weeks back. I shoveled some this afternoon, but this is way more than I am capable of doing..
Time for supper..

This looks just like the cat who has taken up residence here. It's a friendly cat.. hungry and purrs like a mack truck. I've been giving it leftovers and soup away from the house, but it finds it's way to the deck and demands attention till I get the shovel out to move snow/ice from the deck.
I suppose he / she needs a name.. any suggestions?

Today would have been office day for me.. I'm really glad I talked to the office manager yesterday and she said they could cover me.. so I'm at home and thinking I may want to get groceries.
Dave came yesterday and plowed us out again.. it really needed it badly. It looks/feels like it may be melting a bit. The temperature is 34*. AMEN.

snow.. so what else is new?

Wow! Did we get more snow or what?! I just have trouble imagining how it must have been for our ancestors with winters like this. I would imagine only the really strong would survive.
We are snowed in again. The front deck has snow blocking the door now. Cant get the door open at all. The back deck is cleared for the moment, as I keep going out and shoveling it. There is about 6-7" of new snow on the railings.. and elsewhere. The car is at the end of the driveway and I would suppose if they ever did send a plow, we're plowed in too. Ugh.
Tomorrow we need to try to get plowed out. First I need to assess whether I can move the car at all without shoveling it. That's a bit out of my league.
Perhaps we can get John to use the snowblower. Trouble is, this present storm is predicted to last until Thursday morning.. just in time for another office day- which, incidently, I didn't get to go this morning.
None of our back roads were plowed and when I got to Rt8, it wasn't any better than the backroads, and traffic was horrific.. I made it to Country Kitchen before I turned back and went home. The thought of going down McBride and than Armco hills was more than my soul could handle. I start to shake and then the knots come in the stomach.. I had to go back home and call the office manager to tell her I couldn't make it .. I just hope they are as understanding as they seem on the phone. I really need to retire completely.. this is just so stressful in the winter. I came home and slept for about 3 hours- I needed it.
We are now at the point where we could use some milk and bread and maybe some eggs - and a few other items too. A small grocery trip needs to be made to replenish our winter stock, though I'm sure we could last quite a while with what we have. I think next trip I may get yeast and more flour and then I can make bread or rolls if we need.

weather.. and thoughts

It would appear that we have about 3" of new snow out there.. ugh. Tomorrow is office day and I'll have to leave early to walk up to the end of the driveway to get to the car.. then start it and clean it off. I just hope and pray the road crew doesn't plow me in.. I'd be sunk.
I can do little bits of shoveling, but heavy stuff is out of my league.
If we get the 7" as they say we may, I really have no clue how we will get out or in. I complain a lot.. I know.. I live in WPA.. where it snows. Just wish it wasn't quite so much.
Heading for bed.

Sew.. what's new?

I decided to do a bit of sewing today.. I love these pins with the big yellow heads.. if I drop one, I can find it NOW.. even in a dark room.. HAH!

Here's my new pillow cases for my bed.. I love this springy pattern!!! Wish I'd bought more..

This fabric is for the guest room pillows.. I love the Americana look.. They will go well with our comforter..

It's been such a long time since I have sewn anything.. yesterday I mended with the machine.. hems and such... Today I'm being productive in a different way..

Asher's 1st Christmas blanket.. a bit late, but I'm trying.. I love the blue on the back.. it's double fleece and the satin binding is giving me grief, but I shall prevail! or else I will make it a non-bound blankie..

What's cookin'?

So, what's cookin' at YOUR house? I made this jello salad for the hubby on Sabbath.. it's his valentine treat.. sugar free and then topped with sf cool whip! Bananas in jello... such memories of my childhood..


Today I'm making him a sugar free cheesecake pie using cheesecake pudding... I should take out some stock in the Jello company. We tend to use a LOT!

A real favorite.. home made chicken barley soup with veggies.. yummo!

This is the black cat that has been surviving here under the chicken coop, I think.. or perhaps inside with the chickens?

I broke down and took it some warm milk, soup, and a slice of bread. I have no cat food since we have no cats other than the one seen here..

Check back later to see what else I've been up to.. teehee..

post valentine day

Valentine Day is gone.. I think I agree with my cousin Annsley.. it's not a really worthwhile holiday and I would rather be loved all year long, not just on one day. I love the surprises of the day.. just surprise me next month too.. with a hug and a paper heart... eh?

Snow is coming.. 4-7" now.. by tomorrow. I wonder if I'll get to the office again this week.. I've never had this problem of drifting and so much snow our little Honda feels bogged. Yet.. I'll take her to the top of the hill today as soon as she thaws out on her own.. and tomorrow hope to walk the driveway to get to the office.. I need a winter replacement.

Spring is on it's way.. my stomach tells me so. Spring and fall, I have that GI thing .. and last night it was sooooo present. It means we are on our way.! Saturday when we went to the grocery store, they had hyacinths blooming and the scent was more than magnificent! If I could have afforded the extra $7.99 for one little pot, I would have bought 6 of them to remind me of spring..
Alas.. I'll have to wait for the real ones and the crocus in a few weeks.. just a few more weeks.. I can do this... I can hold out a little longer...
I think I can...... I think I can....

I think I better get lunch and get the little marshmallow out of the driveway and up on the hill ...

Come on spring!!!

This is how I feel this morning.. hmmmm

I have been looking at the car and thinking 'I don't think my body will be able to clean it off this morning.. perhaps this afternoon... aacckk! There is more snow being predicted for Monday.. haven't heard any estimates yet.

Doesn't matter.. I'm hoping the sun will shine again today and melt the snow from my little gray popsicle in the driveway.

Spring Spring

It's a wonderful thing

Think of all

the flowers it brings

Sunshine and flowers

No winter jacket

Just 4 more weeks

I think I can hack it.

Even MORE snow?

Just when it seems as though we couldn't possibly get any more snow- after all, we DID get our quota in the past 2 weeks, didn't we?- more snow is falling.. and our little Civic is covered and looks like a big marshmallow in the driveway.
Longing for spring here. Really longing..
Longing to be able to walk without tripping on rocks under snow, slipping on ice, or trudging through 24" of the stuff. I have been thinking it might be a good idea to move the car.. all day I have thought that might be a good idea.. but I didn't.
Amanda called earlier this afternoon and we went to JoAnn Fabric. I bought us each a tree skirt to make- and then fabric to make pillow cases for the Americana guest room as well as for our bed. Those old cases just don't make it. So, I ended up with some really beautiful patriotic stars and stripes for the guest room, and some really pretty springy looking fabric for our bedroom..
Then I sat down tonight to figure out how to put my new sewing machine together. Filling the bobbin was a piece o cake.. but figuring out HOW to put it in it's place was another story. I felt like I was reading Greek as I tried to follow the step by step directions.. and finally ended up following the picture directions for those of us challenged by the Singer "Simple" machine. I did get all the pieces back together again, but it took over an hour to do so.. my hands don't work well.. I guess I say that a lot, but it's true. I'm so clumsy. Think threading a needle with garden gloves on both hands... eh?
I did finally get it going, and it sews beautifully, but the self threading needle is gonna take me some time and practice.
I moved on to making Asher's first Christmas fleece blanket and realized that I need to lay this thing out and put it together before I put the satin binding on it. It's really cute, and I'll post pictures when I get it done.
Hopefully by next Christmas.. I'm making it big enough for a bigger child.. just in case, ya know?
Taxes are now done. I sent the federal ones today- not without difficulty.
In our move, I lost our stapler- I looked in every box I could think of... and decided since I was going out with Amanda, we could stop at the Dollar General and I'd buy a new one. I found a little wee one for a dollar and the staples came with it. So I stapled my 1099's to the pages when we got back to the car, and tried to seal the envelope.. Aw.. rats! The goo wouldn't stick on the back. I needed tape. So we went into Friedmans.. and I bought 2 cans of black olives and a bunch of bananas.. looked for some Sugar Free chocolates for Wendell for Valentine Day, and checked out.. without the tape , of course. AAACCKKK! No problem, our next stop was JoAnn Fabric and they would have tape. Yes, they did and after Amanda got the thing going, I carefully placed the tape on the back of the envelope, but not where it needed to be... oh.. for evermore.
We finally got it done and mailed. I'm so thankful and glad. I went back home and put the PA and local taxes together and ready to send after next pay day. We only owe a couple dollars to each, but they insist on us paying our fair share.. so we will. And, oh, yes.. I was back home approximately 3.25 minutes when the old stapler appeared..
It's been a long day here.. I'm weary and tired and want to be in church tomorrow, but looking at the car, I'm just not so sure I'm up to cleaning it off and fighting the driveway again.
Happy Valentine Day everyone!

Foto Friday

LOVING

I wanted to try something different
and more toward the artsie side..
I'm not too artistic these days..
and the topic had me a bit in a quandary.
Till I was washing dishes tonite
and looked up on the window sill
to see this little musical snow globe..

You have to understand
that this globe is very very special to me.
It plays "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"
and was my parents "song".
I have precious memories of my dad

strumming his guitar

and crooning this song to my mother.. such love!

Something a bit different for dessert tonite-

it's special too because it is sugar free

and my diabetic hubby can eat it

and not be worried about

his blood sugar sky-rocketing..

Tonite I added the message for him

so when he went for his bedtime snack,

he would be greeted with a sweet message..

inscribed in yummy chocolate filling

Join us at Rebecca's blog Renaissance

for more Foto Friday entries,

and please do consider

adding your own photos.

It's fun and I actually AM

learning a lot from seeing

what others do with cameras

similar to mine.

cheering me up with photos

I needed something to make me smile... so I sorted through pictures from last year and this year too.. and some miscellaneous ones.. and I'm sharing.

Moving day into our new home Dec 21,2009.. it looks a lot different now..

Gimme an A ! That's for Annabelle.. she loved the cheerleader outfit I found in the closet.. Pink is for Annabelle too

Safe haven for Charlie's girls.. under the forsythia- it's gone now

Oh.. and how gorgeous the flowers were!!! Ahhhhhhhh

Daniel on the zipline.. brave

A family birthday party

Esther, Isaac, Elijah

Annabelle + chocolate

A hot day for a 40th wedding anniversary picnic

Gramma and David

my funny Valentines..

Papa and Asher have a talk

Gramma and Asher take a nap

Joyce

Wendy.. a few years ago. I think she has softened since then

Amanda

Paul... P2

Son in love Keith

Daughter in love, Amy

JJ, Jenn, Jennifer..Mrs Vulhop

me

Joyce

I like this one of Joyce too.. she's so beautiful