They're Here

   

 While setting out plants yesterday and preparing the bed beside the patio and pool, I heard a distinctive call: the funny chatter of playful, zoom-on-by hummingbirds. Could these be scouts, I wondered. "I'm filling and hanging up the feeders," I told Marvin. That's exactly what I did, but never saw a single hummer.
     This morning, glancing at the garden area from the kitchen window, Marvin saw a living, breathing, drinking, zooming hummingbird!
     They're here!

Santoku- a new game for the kitchen

I am not a chef and often look up chef-friendly terms. I first wondered if Santoku was a kind of math puzzle. When I “Googled” Santoku, the first word associated with it and knife was Japan. Ah…a small Samurai Sword to go along with my Karate Kid training movements: pose like a deranged flamingo and make attack noises often enough to scare off any attacker. 

My first ever Santoku knife comes in a lovely green design and turns out to be a multi-purpose knife, primarily used for slicing, dicing, and mincing…a “go-to” knife. My first set of ceramic knives is presented in a feisty color palate, offered by Cuisinart. They promise to be awesome replacements for those not-so-sharp knives lurking in the cooking, stirring, and slicing drawer. 

Perhaps I’ll be encouraged to cook more interesting dishes since I have pretty knives to add excitement to the kitchen experience.

Have a Heart Week

It was daughter-in-law Kathy Gatewood who reminded me of my 3-year anniversary.
That's right. I did not remember, caught up in Marvin's shoulder surgery rehab and daily life.

I've become accustomed to feeling fantastic. Isn't that fantastic?

To God be the Glory, Great Things He has done
For modern science and medical advances,
For Marvin who pays attention and knows when I cave in and say, "I have to go to the hospital," something is horribly wrong.
For Dr. DeWitt at Piggott Community Hospital for acting with such speed and arranging for transport.
For Dr.Harris at NEA Baptist for the tests and appropriate referrals.
For Dr. Michael Isaacson for the diagnosis of a rare and benign tumor inside my heart, called a myxoma. Like a golf ball on a string, it was bouncing around, blocking oxygen supply. He said you aren't going anywhere except to surgery. He had no backup that week and contacted his colleague in Memphis.
For Dr. Ed Garrett, heart guru of the world, for the life-saving surgery and all the nurses at Baptist Hospital Heart Center who treated me like a queen.
For Marvin who did not leave my side, except to sleep. To David and Richard, my Thomas and Lois, and the enduring Memphis friendships that have always kept my head above water.

How can I ever say THANK YOU enough.

How fantastic to walk 2.79 miles at a pace of 16:35 and live to write about it!

The Master's in my Own Front Yard

I'm hosting my own Azalea Festival and Tour! I've walked around the yard, admiring the hydrangeas, iris, Chinese maple, clematis, and both Japanese maples. My photography skills don't do these mature plants justice. The azaleas are breathtaking.

In fact, I believe our azaleas are prettier today than they have EVER been since we purchased our home in Rector. Marvin cut the intruding holly bushes back substantially, allowing an abundance of sunlight to greet these gorgeous specimens in the afternoons.The rainfall of the past few months gave them great gulps for growth and more nourishment to encourage beautiful blooms.


If I could play golf, I'd host the Master's in my own front yard!

Put on the Brakes!

     On a Sunday afternoon in April 8, 1979, a big, bad tornado, scaled as F3, approached Camden. Mother with her running-around buddy and next-door neighbor Lou Rushing were driving home from the El Dorado area. The afternoon had begun well enough.
     They had been stomping around in cemeteries around the Mt. Holly area in search of long-dead relatives such as James Jefferson Tooke, father of Jane Elizabeth Tooke Gordon.
      Clouds gathered; Mother hated storms.
     

She and her brother Gordon had survived the big Methodist Church-Court House Tornado of 1931 which caused catastrophic damage to those two structures. The family home was located right across the street and sustained limited damage.
       Nonetheless, she believed at least one future funnel had her name on it. She and Lou decided to drive home right away.
     They decided, in fact, to speed home.
      As they drove, winds increased, darkness encroached, rain poured and Mother sped on, white-knuckled.
     When the wind picked up and the sky turned green, when the hail began, she made an important decision. Coming into the Fairview area, south of Camden, she saw a metal, unoccupied, detached carport. What the heck, she was not going to be blown away or have her car ruined by hail. She pulled under that carport.
     The wind roared, torrents of rain beat upon the metal roof, lightning, and all other components of a horrible storm raged, The F3 tornado  was in the process of skipping, dipping, destroying 13.5 million dollars in property. The tornado was also deciding if it wanted to take on Margaret Dansby and Lou Rushing.
     When the biggest gusts of wind came, Mother pressed on the brakes as hard as she could and as the car shook, the car's tires gripped the gravel and dirt with the same fierceness that Mother held the wheel.
     And that, dear friends,is why she and Lou were not blown away.

"Cow!" - said Helen Hunt in the movie TWISTER.

Right on Time

When Easter is early, the red bud trees celebrate with vibrant pink blossoms , but often the dogwoods don't bloom.
Children brave the chill to gather colored eggs, some plastic, which have been brought or perhaps laid by an Easter Bunny.
Girls don Easter frocks and winter coats.
If rain falls and obscures the sun for the sunrise service, some might express disappointment,
Easter lunch of ham, sweet potatoes, lime jello congealed salad, green bean casserole and rolls is finished off with either coconut pie or pineapple pie. Time for a nap. Easter has come and gone.

Easter comes early this year and glorious sunshine brings warmth, but so do jackets and sweaters.
Rain, even storms, are predicted for this Sunday, March 27,2016.

Easter can never be held hostage. A boulder did not keep Jesus in the tomb. What's a bit of a frost or a deluge?
Holy week began with Hosanna! on Palm Sunday and ended with darkness and grief, doubt and questions on Good Friday.
They did not know what we know.
They did not know that Sunday would be the day that changed everything.

With belief in a risen Savior, everything changes. Nothing is impossible.
Easter never "comes and goes."
Easter is the promise that the God With Us (Emmanuel) of Christmas continues through a Savior who understands our human condition as no other. He lived, served others, illustrated his points as a Master teacher, was betrayed, though tempted had no sin, suffered cruelty beyond measure, forgave, and died.
On the third day, however, he overcame death and the grave.
That kind of power does not "come and go."

Our Savior Lives - Sunday's Coming!
We will celebrate Jesus' Resurrection - Not Early. Not Late. He's always Right on Time.

Fashion Mantra on a Cracker Barrel Magnet

              After a shopping trip to the Outlet Shops in Pigeon Forge with splurges at the $5 rack, I had a consciousness raising experience. I saw a magnet while gobbling breakfast at Cracker Barrel. The magnet featured a mismatched, middle-aged woman wearing a tacky outfit carrying a Queen Elizabeth handbag and sporting orthopedic shoes. Across the bottom the caption read, “Just because it’s on sale does not mean you should buy it!”  It capsuled my new mantra for shopping trips.

            While I can’t bring myself to pay an eye-popping price for any outfit, especially since I’m now on a fixed income,  I’ve come to understand why I should not purchase fashion items crammed onto a circular rack with a sign telling shoppers to “take an additional 75% off already reduced prices.” There’s a good reason the item was making that kind of fashion statement.     

       Today, I was suckered into purchasing a style watcher magazine for Spring 2016. A few

moments of waiting in line at the grocery store and I spotted these headlines: “What’s in for

SPRING,” “Best New Trends, Colors, and Pieces to Wear NOW!” The featured color on the cover

was pink which reminded me I once swished and twirled in a two-piece Miss Pat full skirt and

blouse combo in pretty pink paired with a contoured pink leather belt. Black and white saddle-

oxfords with white socks completed the look.

            As I paged through the style magazine at home, I was taken aback by the pages I thought contained a What Not to Wear feature. Instead, I was surprised by  “new looks” in boho prints, jungle patterns, and giant geometric designs for the "curvy" body type. The caption: “Wear it long to feature the thinnest part of your legs.” 

        “Street fashion” must be the euphemism for “what to wear at the corner of Lamar and

Lamar” in Memphis. Red spike pumps with fringe at the heel caught my attention. In another

magazine section, models displayed wardrobes epitomizing their advice to “go crazy with

mismatching prints – just repeat some of the same colors for cohesion.”

            A subtle skirt with a whisper of pink shading, cream silk blouse,topped with a soft pink, sleeveless long vest coupled with pretty pink heels caught my eye. It was the prettiest, classiest outfit in the magazine. The headline screamed, “Just the Shoes: $1045” and advised me I could make Spring headlines in a similar outfit, a knock-off for a mere $371, spending a pittance, only $99 for pink satin pumps. That’s at least a whopping 65% savings when buying everything from a discount retailer at "substantial markdowns on already reduced prices."
           Perhaps I should rethink my shopping mantra.