A Gentle sort of day

Today has been a gentle sort of day. Being mindful of my back we headed off this morning for a drive in the forest and an amble rather than a walk.

We stopped first at Linford Bottom which is an area we always love.

These three photos are from there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went to Burley which is such a pretty village and always well populated by New Forest ponies.

These two waiting at the bus stop tickled me

 

 

 

 

 

They wanted ice creams and one was determined to go into the shop.

 

 

and they have right of way and can stop the traffic for ages

 

This was too tempting to resist

and the photo of the day = well the sign was begging to be used wasn't it.

 

 

I sat and scrapped this afternoon, trying to be careful not to sit for too long.

This was a photo hot off the press and made for one of the challenge pages in the pre-cyber crop on UKS

 

I just couldn't wait to use that photo

 

 

and as always a whole lot of stitching

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a gentle day
• the beauty of Autumn
• being at home
• a gorgeous sunset

 

and finally a page a day calendar

MYSTERIOUS WAYS
I couldn’t sleep. I stared ahead into the darkness of the hospital room, lit dimly by the machines monitoring my vital signs. Earlier, the IV in my arm had infiltrated, and the doctors stuck me three
times to start a new one. I’d had blood drawn three times, too. “God,” I spoke aloud, “I’m tired. I can’t do this hospital stuff anymore.” After 46 hospitalizations in 19 years, I was ready to give up.

I have a rare illness called acute intermittent porphyria, a sister disease of multiple sclerosis and lupus. It causes pain and muscle weakness, and I’m confined to a wheelchair. But I’d been doing so much better lately with my health. This latest setback just crushed me.

If I can’t sleep, I’ll watch some TV, I thought. I fumbled for the remote and turned the TV on. Channel 30, the info on the screen displayed. A program was already in progress.

Ocean waves rippled onto a sandy beach, lit by a brightening sunrise. A song played softly. “Oh, love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee.”

Then a soprano voice sang out, “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee.”

The room filled with the music and the calmly crashing waves. It felt like God was saying, “Marcia, I
love you and will never let you go. I will give you patience and courage.” I felt at peace. I’d lived through 46 hospitalizations; I could survive more down the line. As long as I was alive, there was always hope for a better tomorrow. Finally, I slept.

The next morning, I turned on the TV again. But it was nothing but blurry static. I double-checked the channel. Channel 30. I pressed the call button.

A nurse came in. “This channel’s all blurry now,” I told her. “Can you fix it?”

“I’m sorry ma’am,” the nurse responded. “But we don’t get channel 30. Never have.”

Great is Your faithfulness, O God my Father.

—MARCIA VAN’T
LAND

Comments

[Barb in AK]

What a fun day! Love the layout :-) How clever of those ponies to take the bus instead of walking ;-)

[Mary D]

Fantastic photos , glad that you were able to get out and about and enjoy the day. I hope that your back pain continue to improve

[Mary B]

I hope that your back is well on the mend now, (when is half term you need a rest)
I love that photo of the old machinery covered with undergrowth
The ponies waiting for a bus is super and love the page you've made for it.
I too have a photo somewhere of a pony trying to come into the pub.
Karen's Cornets yes perfect for you and super for the photo of the day

[Nikki]

Your post was very informative thank you for that