It’s the close of a great day and the close of Holy Week. The comforting feeling that my Lord is in charge of my life and even more so now that today was my 69th birthday and I rely on the hand of my Lord on my shoulder to guide me everyday. So many things are changing in this world that I have no control over. It makes one feel very small and that’s o.k. I have just enough on my plate to allow me to feel very blessed, happy and content.
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Noreen
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Noreen
The day has been gray sprinkled with a few bursts of sun. Amazingly even the ice on the sheltered portion of the patio has given it up for the season. As a spring gift to self I have redecorated my living room. Martha Stewart: eat your heart out. No visit to Pier One Import or Walmart — just using what has been around for a bit in a unique way. Prep for Easter is under control and I am looking forward to enjoying a relaxing visit from family and grand pups. It’s time to take a bit of time outside as Easter Sunday and Monday are promised to be in the 30s for temps. Dang. Hurry up and wait.
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Noreen
This is the holiest of weeks and I feel a quiet within me that I would not mind staying within me every day. But the real world harkens and I am no different than anyone else allowing the most meager items that will spike my heart rate. I have found that when something does trigger my pulse to quicken I actually do talk to myself and assure the inner me that this is just a little glitch and in the scheme of things it’s going to be okay. There are so many instances in our lives when we need to realize that if it is not something we can control or change we need to let it go before we invest any more of our precious energy into a complete waste. My quest is to work very hard at quieting my heart during the meaningless challenges and save it for long lasting enjoyment of my family — now there is a great reason for the heart to swell as it fills with love. Out with the angst — in with the true joy of each day.
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Noreen
I continue to be amazed what the world has to offer in the most simplistic moments. Watching Blue Jays and alley cats taking turns to belly up to the cat food dish.
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Noreen
My Grandmother Laura’s Butterflies
My Grandmother Laura’s sewn Butterflies
Here I am working with my Grandmother Laura Wendlandt’s (my father’s mother) handiwork from the late 1960s. This work of butterflies was done on grandma’s treadle sewing machine. The stitches are so small and tight. In today’s world and with today’s sewing machines when we are finished with a seam we do a back stitch to secure the tread from unraveling. In the 82 blocks of pink butterflies the black thread is hand knotted on the back side to prevent them from becoming undone. All of the pink fabrics have been turned under so no raw material can show. I cannot imagine the hours her arthritic fingers spent securing the fabric and then sewing around each pattern. I have not quite decided how to work with it, but I do know that all of her handiwork will not be in vain. Sometime in the future there will be an update of a portion of these blocks. Just don’t hold your breath.
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Noreen
What am I up to? I am having a great day with the sun shining. As I sip more coffee than I need I am tackling a few house cleaning items. I love the no drip Windex that Kevin clued me into. It’s amazing what shows up as in need of a wipe with the sun shining through the sky light. I know we have a few cool nights left so putting a quilt into the clothes drier with a clean tennis shoe to fluff it will indeed give it more fluff and loft. The more air trapped in the batting the more snuggle power it will have. I just reloaded the “do not call” into my cell phone and the land line phone. I feel so intruded upon when the phone rings and I realize it is a telemarketer. I just heard on the news that Walmart is short of employees. Maybe the telemarketer employees should seek a better choice for employment. At least once in a while they would be greeted with a smile from a customer rather than me hanging up the phone with a bang. Yes indeed it’s a been a great day.
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Noreen
This is Palm Sunday and as I watch out the window the snow flakes are beautiful. A huge part of the appeal is knowing that it can’t last long. Holy Week always is an emotional week for me. The week represents what has been put in place by my Lord and Savior for the continuous forgiveness of my sins and weakness upon my own acknowledgement of them and then asking for that forgiveness. My Dad died on a Maundy Thursday during the Holy Week and that day is clearly etched in my heart. As this week brings so much peace to me a large part of that includes that my children are all working each and every day to enhance their lives and live as the Lord’s teaching has been instilled within them — each to their own abilities. So with that being said I am going to continue my day with a very light heart.
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Noreen
I know that I am a child of parents that always took each day as it came with not much anticipation but with much fortitude. One that I love just stretches my disbelief on what to expect next. Each of us each day has discomfort, pain, even something that may need a band-aid. Many we know have a short time to live as they battle diseases. We suck it up and know that we live in a world that was destined by Adam’s actions in the Garden of Eden to live in a less than perfect world. Why the drama over each and every quirk that our body may deliver to us? Ride it out. Stretch it out. Get so busy you forget about yourself without feeling the need to make it public, seeking affirmation that someone is going to pay attention to you come hell or high water. It does allow for feeling of disappointment within me. I am now going to do a Forest Gump “that’s all I have to say about that.”
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Noreen
Fried Eggs With Cheesy Yolks!
For those of you that like eggs with a very soft center: When the eggs are on your plate gently break the soft yolks and pile high with shredded cheese before the yolk begins to run free. Absolutely delicious.
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Noreen
By golly there are signs of spring and it is not the temps. Dennis has been working daily on getting his garage porch back to his usual domain. It may be 12′ x 16′ (small for some domains) but to him it is a huge part of his day to day life. The two weeks that it was underwater and then progressed to being very soggy were not his cup of coffee. All of the items were moved into the pickup garage and the pickup sat in the driveway. That right there moved right into the next item that caused panic. Honey Bunny, the garage kitty that Dennis has as his confidant, could not use the pickup hood as a launching point to reach the rafters where her box with polar fleece awaited her every evening. (More …)