HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - ODDS AND BODS FOR 7/5/26

Good Morning - may today greet you gently and give you plenty of 

reasons to smile.

I am sending a bit of sunshine your way, hoping it will add a smile to your day.

How are you? You matter to me.

It’s another hot day.

 It's another hot day here too, 100 degrees F. - about 38 degrees C (wrote this on Saturday the evening of the 4th). What's it like in your part of the world?  Here is our weather for today and the coming week. Looks like it's cooling down a tad.

I hope you have a nice cool drink handy. It's important to stay well-hydrated. Yes, I know, preaching to the choir here.

For those of you who were celebrating America's 4th of July Independence Day yesterday, I hope you all had a great time, everyone else also however you spent the day. We had several fireworks going off in our neighborhood the night of the 3rd. In the early evening of the 4th, our neighbor was setting off a few in their front yard. There were about 12 little kids watching him, at a safe distance and none over the age of seven (our neighborhood is cycling through a younger age - the older kids have all grown and moved on - such is the way). All the girls (more girls in the group than boys) were shouting over what he was doing wrong, giving him advice on how to do it properly, lol! You gotta smile! He was a loving patient man, and all those kids were having a great time. At first, I thought I was hearing thunder in the distance, and then realized more fireworks were being set off throughout the neighborhood. We spent our 4th quietly otherwise and thoroughly enjoyed our day. 

Here is some pretty art for you, which includes my dream cottage and pet sheep. My whimsical personality is telling me there is a dog and a cat around somewhere, a family of hedgehogs too. 

I am having a bad hair day, but that’s okay. It’s too hot to go out anyway. 

You might guess I am going through my sheep phase but…

there is always room for rabbits…

isn’t there my dear?

Wouldn’t this be a pretty gate to walk through to the vegetable patch? Rabbit is already on the other side waiting for you, nibbling on your carrots.

How about pretty photo art?

Which one is your favorite?

Another word…

Ubuntu (oo-boon-too) noun - a profound African philosophy that

Embodies the spirit of togetherness; the belief that our humanity is 

intertwined, and through compassion and community, we rise.

And another!

Whist / Verb / Meaning: (rare) to hush or silence; to still; to become silent.

And one more...

Feathe - otherkinwords@tumbler - Noun/Meaning: (in a person) the state of being calm; 

peacefulness; absence of worry, anger, fear or other strong negative emotion; (in a place or 

situation). The state of being calm; absence of noise and disturbance.

Fun with food.

How about a recipe or two? I hope by this time I have actually made them. 

Nope, not yet! 

Pork Chop Supreme - 4 boneless pork chops - 4 thinly sliced medium

Potatoes - 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix - 1 can cream of mushroom 

Soup - 1/4 cup milk - Salt and Pepper to taste. 

Brown the pork in 1/4 cup of oil, then drain. Slice potatoes into a medium

into a medium casserole dish in even layer. Place pork chops over potatoes. 

Combine onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup and milk, pour

over top of pork chops. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. 

Cookies?

Lemon Cookies - Ingredients: 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour - 1/2 teaspoon

baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon salt - 1/2 cup butter, softened - 3/4 cup sugar

1 egg - 2 teaspoons lemon juice - 1 tablespoon lemon zest - 1/2 teaspoon 

vanilla extract - 1/4 cup powdered sugar for coating - Directions: 1. In a

large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the lemon juice, zest

and vanilla extract.  2. Mix in the flour, baking powder and salt until 

combined.  3. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.  4. Roll the dough into balls 

and coat in powdered sugar.  5. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12

minutes, until lightly golden.  Cool on a wire rack. 

Maybe you can get ice-cream to go with your cookies but be sure to get a cone first. Dinner is still a few hours away and it is a hot day. Me? I will take the Famous Hot Fudge Sundae…

The Scoop Ice Cream Parlor - Try our famous hot fudge Sundae - Sweet 

Summer Memories - Special - Banana Split 35 cents - Malted Milk 25 cents

Sundaes 25 cents - Cones 15 cents

…especially if it is only 25 cents! Which one would you get? Maybe other flavors not seen here?

I completed a couple of jigsaw puzzles. Two new favorites, plus info below on ladybirds/ladybugs depending on which part of the world you live in. I am sure there are some other interesting names for them.

https://www.timesonline.com/story/lifestyle/home-garden/2019/04/29/myths-legends-ladybugs/5314067007/

You killed her babies. They don’t look like her. They eat more than she does. The adult:

Red. Round. Beloved. Eats 50 aphids a day. The Larva: Black. Spiky. Alien. Eats 400

aphids before growing up. The feast: She doesn’t wear the red coat yet. She’s earning it.

The second one is very cute. I wonder what our little fox is thinking?

This was a very interesting analogy. 

The Train Station - Life Station. You are the train and your life is the 

track. Everyone you meet is getting on for one stop, for a few stations 

or will ride with you until the end. Most people don’t stay for the 

whole ride. They will hop on, teach you something, love you for a 

moment, and then get off. Some help you through the hardest parts 

of the ride before getting off at their stop. Others stay through several 

stations. Only a few become your forever passengers.

Wise words.

“Being there for someone doesn’t mean you have to fix their storm;

It just means you have to stand in the rain with them until the sun

comes out. I’ve got a big umbrella and plenty of snacks. We’re going

to be just fine.” - Aurelia Leafsong - Better days are coming.

Now for a little pep talk…

One day you’ll look back and realize that you worried too much about

things that don’t really matter - so breathe, let go and trust the journey.

Everything you need is already within you. Be kind to yourself.

Easier said than done I know, life can be complicated, but something to think about. These important words are ones to remind ourselves to “be kind to ourselves!” Let's look in the mirror and tell our reflection, “I am amazing! There is no other person like me.” Okay, you may be laughing by now, because your reflection has quite an expression but say it enough, and maybe you will eventually believe it. I have said it before but it’s worth repeating, “Know you are worthy!”

And with all that being said...

It is always a good idea to leave room in your life for a little magic, a little whimsy and the

possibility of woodland fairies and frogs in waistcoats.

Wishing you all a very happy Sunday, 

with the hope that your week ahead 

will be a great one.

With my thanks to Pinterest for today's inspiration. You can click on any picture to enlarge if necessary.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

A big thank you Ann for this sweet card. They always put an extra skip in my day. 

To all those who are celebrating,

Happy 4th of July 

and to everyone, here in the USA and 

around the world, have a great day!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

 To all family and friends who celebrate Independence Day, may you have a…

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY - AND A POEM BY WALT WHITMAN

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his best as it should be blithe and strong, 

The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,

The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,

The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,

The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,

The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

The day what belongs to the day - at night party of young fellows, robust, friendly,

Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

~Walt Whitman~ 

 First published in 1860 

Happy 4th of July!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

However you are celebrating this year, 

I hope your day is a very happy one.

Happy 4th of July

(I found this wonderful graphic on Wanda's Pinterest page here)

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY

After a busy few days we will be celebrating quietly.  We have just returned from the family 4th of July picnic where we had a wonderful time seeing all the familiar faces and meeting a few new ones.

Gregg and I love getting together with the family, and road-tripping.  Today I am concentrating on the journey there and back.  This was a relatively short one but we always enjoy it and seeing a few sights along the way.  At one point there was a traffic jam on the freeway, so we decided to get off there and take the country roads.  We drove through some pretty towns, some selling items in front of their shops.

Gregg pointed out the dog behind us sticking his head out the car window.  I could barely see him but there he was.  We were stuck in traffic shortly after exiting the highway, but it was only at a traffic light and we were soon on our way.

 A little while later we stopped at Horne's for lunch. This place is an institution and we have been coming here for many years when journeying south.  You can read its history at the link I provided in red lettering.

It is at a crossroads.  Gregg remembers the route from when his parents used to drive through here, on their frequent trips to pick him up or drop him off at the naval academy almost 50 years ago, before freeways.  

Today as we got back into our car, this interesting vehicle drove through the light.  It is a self-propelled sprayer and I only found that out because I was able to read the brand name on the side of the vehicle which read "Apache".  I found it online immediately.   On its way to spray one of the many crops in this area no doubt.

We passed the building painted with peace doves and part of a rainbow.  I'm not sure if it was a church as we had gone by it before I could study it further, and a search online resulted in nothing this time.  It was a pretty mural.

The next shot is of the view from our hotel window.  The skies were gorgeous, not fully captured in this photo unfortunately.

The print was on the wall in our hotel room. I always like to inspect the artwork, especially if it is a photo of the local area.  In this case it showed buildings in Colonial Williamsburg.

And now we are on our way home.  We took the freeway for the most part, only getting onto the country roads towards the end of our journey.  The traffic was light and we got home well before noon, having had breakfast with our son and daughter-in-law.  We left them a little after 9.30 a.m.

We enjoyed looking at the countryside, all the old barns...

 and pretty houses in the distance.

"Road trips are the equivalent of human wings.  Ask me to go on one, anywhere.  We'll stop in every small town and learn the history and the stories, feel the ground and capture the spirit.  Then we'll turn it into our own story that will live inside our history to carry with us, always.  Because stories are more important than things."

~Victoria Erickson~

Thanks for coming along on our mini road trip, and enjoy your day.