Dolly's Dreamings

It's just like summer

It really is just like summer her.

Oh wait a minute - it IS summer ... well nearly.

The weather has been glorious again. Not quite as hot and cloudless as yesterday but plenty good enough for the obligatory prone time int he garden - and very nice it was too.

We headed out to Poole this afternoon as I really really wanted some sundresses for my holiday - and for home too if it is this nice.

I am not a dress sort of girl really. I ear skirts and dresses ever day to work and weekends and holidays are strictly trousers or crops or shorts. BUT - I have been hankering for some pretty sundresses as I know they will be much cooler in Florida.

But they are hard to find ... well they are for me anyway. I don't do short - I have horrible legs and especially horrible knees. The knee I damaged badly is still misshapen and I have always has very pudgy knees (well very pudgy everything really but knees especially) I also wanted sundresses I could wear without a bra which means they have to have some sort of structure (pudgy there too!)

Couldn't find what I wanted anywhere until .... well I found the perfect little sundress. It is crinkle cotton so won't crease and if it does it won't notice. It is strappy but supportive and just the right length. It was cool and pretty and pink. Oh and then there was the black and white one, the white and black one, the blue and white denim looking one, the cream and brown one and the peacock blue one. Mmmmmm

Well the chances of finding the right dress again was not looking good and it would have been a shame to come home and wish I had bought another one. So suddenly they all appeared at the checkout as there was a special offer and I now have 6 new dresses for £80.

We came home via the quay and there was one of the tall ships in and so it acted as the photo of the day.

I have a new page to share today too made with a stunning new collection I have been playing with. It is my favourite colour scheme at the moment - the cream and lilac and green. This is a collection called Serenity by Indogo Designs at Pickleberrypop.

 
She makes glorious masks whch just lend themselves so well to subtle blending. The photo is another from the bluebell woods at Pamphill which we love so much.

Today I am thankful for

• those perfect little dresses
• a husband who insists I buy stuff
• Happy hour at Starbucks - yey!

Preparations

It has been a magnificent day today - absolutely glorious.

There has been a very strong wind, but that has been a good thing as I would never have lasted as long as I did in the garden without it.

It has been hot hot hot - and fabulous.

I would hate you to think I had been working in the garden. I have just been prone ... front and back. Bliss.

Today has been all about getting ready for the Jubilee. I have downloaded a lot of stuff for the children next week for our celebrations. We did a fun Jubilee treasure hunt together whilst sat outside. I have made some Jubilee themed pages and we have begun our preparations for our street party.

Our street closure notices - yes we did it properly this time and applied for a street closure - were put up today. We had great fun tying them to lamp posts down the road and on the gates.

Our neighbours are as excited as we are and I am busy making reminder invites for everyone.

My photo of the day is our notices.

 
I have  new page to share today which I made last week. Most of my new stuff tends to be CT work as I now get to have a lot of CT kits to work with which is fabulous. However it means I post them a week after I make them as by then they have been released in store.

This was made with a kit from Pickleberrypop   Life everyday (May) element pack by deb fisher designs at Pickleberrypop

It was from our day at Minterne Gardens

 

I absolutely LOVE the colours - those greens and lilacs. It is a combo I am going to be using over and over and over again.

LOVE IT!

I have a video clip to share today. Nigel is very into motorsports - always has been - and loves Speedway. This clip is NOT speedway but you can't fail to be impressed with this guy and what he can do on a bike.

If you are board do spin through and see the end though!

 

Today I am thankful for

• The sunshine
• chance to relax
• GREAT new digi kits to play with
• News that my Joann order has arrived!

and my one minute devotional is

“Greg, I think I might have finally found a hutch for those china dishes,” I said to my husband, calling him over to see a picture I’d found online. I’d been searching for weeks for just the right cabinet for my great-grandmother’s dishes, to no avail.

Grandma Mary had brought boxes full of the dishes when she paid us a visit last spring. “I want you to have these,” she said. Opening up the boxes, I found the most beautiful dishes I’d ever laid eyes on. I reached in, running my fingers gently over the dainty roses painted on each piece. “They were your great-grandmother’s wedding present from your great-grandfather,” she went on. “Take good care of them.”

“I will,” I promised.

That was harder than I thought. We had no space for them. Weeks passed, and the dishes stayed carefully wrapped while we tried to find a cabinet that would fit them and our décor. Lord, please help me find the right cabinet for Great-grandmother’s dishes, I prayed.

Finally I found one that fit the bill, I hoped. The website was for a small antiques store in Ashland, about a half hour from our house. “Great-grandmother Zadora owned a coffee shop here over 50 years ago,” I told Greg. “Maybe it’s a sign.”

“Let’s check it out,” Greg said. We made our way to the antiques store. To our delight, we spotted the china hutch I’d seen online. Not only was it our style, but it was on sale, too! We bought it and took it home.

“The cabinet was made for these,” I cried, placing the precious dishes into the hutch. Closing the cabinet door, my fingers brushed against some rough grooves inside. Oh, no. Damage? I slipped my glasses on for closer inspection.

Great-grandmother’s dishes belonged in there all right. It was her name carved in the wood.

An early Jubilee Party

I am loving everything leading up to the Jubilee. I am loving the red white and blue, I am loving the union jacks sprouting everywhere, I am loving that we have a street party planned, just loving it all.

I went to an early street party today - well kind of.

Marks and Spencer have special cardholder events and there was one today so after work I headed off to castle Point. Beautiful warm sunshine (though way way too hot in store ... when will this country learn about air conditioning) clothes to try on and buy, free Cava and cheese nibbles and cupcakes and 20% off plus a free £5 voucher. What's not to like!

And of course, it would have been rude to resist wouldn't it. I bought a pretty navy and white top and another top that was a real bargain. The second top was Indigo (I love that range) and was so pretty but it had no label of any description on. I asked at the checkout if they could tell me how much it was and she said yes and checked the bar code. She said 'Oh it is a deleted line and was in the sale. It was £8'. Now bearing in mind similar tops are £26 I was pretty keen to buy it, but then she said it had been reduced again but it was a non returnable item. It was now £4!

Well it would have been rude not to wouldn't it.

 

Dawn Inskip has a brand new collection out and Oh Boy - it is one you are not going to want to miss.

If you are a fan of her templates - and how can you possibly not be - then this is a must.

It is an amazing colelction of 24 new detailed awesome templates - and a free bonus alphabet too.  You can find them here

It's incredible. I am a lucky lucky girl to get to play with all of them.  This is one of the pages I made with them

The lion was one of the wire sculptures at the Tower of London taken earlier this month.

Today I am thankful for

• early street parties
• bargains
• getting my shoes off!

and my one minute calendar page is

A friend had died and I’d gone to the funeral home to pay my respects. In a corner, I noticed a boy sitting all alone. “That’s the son of the man who died,” I heard someone say. “He’s deaf. He’s taking his daddy’s death harder than anyone.”

My heart broke for the boy, all lost in a world of his own. I walked over to him and took his hand, hoping he could read my lips as I tried to tell him how very sorry I was. He nodded politely, but I knew I hadn’t really reached him.

Then, as I was leaving, an elderly gentleman entered the room, and as he walked toward him, the boy’s face lit up in recognition. Immediately, the two began communicating in sign language. The boy’s hands flew, unable to get the words out fast enough, as if he were tripping over them at the joy of having someone who at long last truly understood him.

Thinking back, I recalled seeing the gentleman at a church I once visited where he heads a ministry for the deaf. I had observed him translating a sermon, but I’d never had the chance to watch him one-on-one, speaking the very language of a grieving boy’s heart and turning isolation and pain into love and belonging.

Jesus, help me to speak Your language of love.

—ROBERTA MESSNER

Good and hot

Today has been both good and hot. It has been a really good day - but then I guess everyday we have should be viewed as a good day one way or another. It is just that some days you have to look a little harder to find the good. Today it was right there in black and white.

It has also been hot. Fabulously hot. Now I am a winter girl. I like the cold frosty weather but it has been so chilled and dank and dreary I am really loving the sun and the heat at the moment. Long may that continue.

My photo of the day is my car display when I set off home tonight.

29 degrees. WOW - awesome.

My feet, however, haven't cottoned on to summer yet and I now have a splendid collection of blisters where my namby pamby winter feet, used to have=ing socks or tights on, have softened up over the winter and the first rub of a shoe blisters them. It's quite funny really. I had a rub on the top of my toe when I came home. It was a blister that broke pretty much instantly. Last night we went for a wlk and I didn't want it to rub so I put a plaster on it.

The plaster rubbed undeneath qorse than the top was to begin with so now the middle toe on one foot has a raw patch on the top and the bottom. And I have a new one on the other foot tonight.  No doubt they will harden up soon!

I also had a drama today on the way to work as I had another massive nose bleed - this time a real gusher and I was driving so it was all very dramatic. I wish I knew what was causing them as I could perhaps be a little prepared.

I have a page to share today which is another made with one of the Pickleberrypop Pickle Barrel sets, this time one from Dee Bee Creations

 

The photo is of us at Pamphill in the Bluebell woods.

Today I am thankful for

• kindness
• recognition
• praise
• warmth

 

“There are two kinds of people,” a friend of mine told me a few years ago as I was approaching my 40th birthday. “People under the age of 40 and people over it.”

After 40 arrived, I couldn’t help but notice that the age really was the milestone it’s always made out to be. Almost as if on cue, my knees started bothering me if I jogged for too long, and my hair, graying around the temples for some time, started changing color a little faster. Long taken largely for granted, my body was beginning to assert itself as what, in truth, it always had been: a fragile and temperamental piece of machinery destined ultimately to break down.

This year, I turn 45. Over the past couple of years, as I’ve gotten used to being a member of the second of those two kinds of people, I’ve started to notice that people over 40 can also be divided into two general classes: There are those who are clearly worried about age and all it brings with it, and those who, though perhaps not delighted with the gradual failings of the body, aren’t undone by them, either. With faith, with the belief that life’s end is not really an end at all but only the beginning of another infinitely larger life as yet unknown, gray hair and achy knees are not weighty and terrible events, but markers on a journey far from over—indeed, hardly begun.

Lord, keep me ever mindful of the larger life that lies beyond this one.

 

Spring like - sometimes

We woke to a frost this morning.

In mid May.

Not usual at all. And not the right time to not have heating on. It has been cooooooooold.

I suffer from Reynauds anyway and it has been getting much worse during the past two years. There are times when all of my fingers and toes go and what is ridiculous is they look dead, they feel dead and yet they hurt. Today it was so bad at one point I couldn't hold a pen properly. Sadly I didn't think of taking a picture until it was almost passed when only two fingers were still dead. I am sure many of you reading suffer with it too, but it is a horrid thing to get. I can no longer do the supermarket shop in the fridge and frozen sections as my hands go almost instantly. (Look, that is MY excuse for not doing the shopping and I am sticking to it!) I even have to have layers of napkins to be able to hold my fraps. I can hear some of you asking .... if the fraps hurt your hands then stop the fraps! Blasphemy!

Anyway

my poor remaining dead fingers this afternoon as my photo of the day.

The middle finger is my normal colour. And it's stunning when they come back to life as they go from white to deep deep purple then red then normal. I am a veritable rainbow!

 I have a new page to share today which is another for my 2012 album. I love doing these yearly albums. All too often we think we don't do much other than the daily grind. I love looking back and seeing all of the wonderful things I have done in a year.

This was a page all about our trip to Minterne Gardens on Saturday.

I am still loving these Prima papers which just should out Spring to me. I had to be creative with the title as I didn't have an 'M' but had to use a 'W' and both 'N's are really 'U'.

I only added a couple of extra butterflies and a mess of dots and a journalling block.

Today I am thankful for

• feeling my fingers right now
• Amazing (again) Customer Service from Amazon. For some reason my Amazon account deregistered my Kindle. No idea why. It worked perfectly Sunday then not Tuesday. I contacted Amazon at 5.47 (Yes I can be that precise) and they got back to me with the right fix at 6.07. Now THAT is amazing customer service and it is what I have always experienced with Amazon. I cannot sing their praises high enough.

 
 and finally my page a day calendar

I woke up this morning feeling that all I wanted to do was to stay in bed and cry. I really had no reason to feel sad: I love my life, my husband, and my children; this little village we live in; our spiritual community. In fact, I had no excuse at all for feeling tearful and wanting to stay in bed.

Today is Sunday. Robert and I attend church on weekdays so that we can stay with Belva, our hospice patient, on Sundays and give her husband an opportunity to go to church. It was a great effort for me to drag myself out of bed, get dressed, fix breakfast, and drive the five miles to Belva’s house. But when we walked in the door, something unusual happened: Belva smiled and said “Hello”—quite an amazing thing for this end-stage Alzheimer’s patient, who is usually mute and sleeps most of the time.

After her husband left, I began feeding Belva, and she eagerly opened her mouth to receive each bite of cereal and spoonful of juice. And when she had had her breakfast, she looked right at me and smiled again! I felt my heart open, and my early-morning sadness left as mysteriously as it had come.

Sometimes I wonder which of us is nourished most by this Sunday morning ritual, Belva or I. But I do know that it’s quite impossible to help someone else without having my own soul fed in the process.

When I’m feeling down, please lead me to someone I can help, so I may know the grace of both giving and receiving.

—MARILYN MORGAN KING

 

Minterne Gardens - a Treasure Trail

 

We have had a fabulous day today. Two friends, Lindsay and Jacinta, sent us a linka  while ago about downloadable treasure trails and said they seemed made for us. Oh how right they were.

We browsed the site to pick one today as the sun was shining and we were up for a walk and a bit of fun.

 

We picked Minterne Gardens as there was a spring trail and it said they had lots of rhododendrons and azaleas. Our original plan was to go to Exbury as it is the best time of year, but we have been many times and something new sounded perfect.

So treasure trail printed, Starbucks in hand, off we set.

It said it was very little known. Well that was true. There were almost no signs until we were right there. Thank goodness for Sat Nav.

The gardens work on trust - well at least they do at this time of year. You simply put your £5 each int he box at the gate. And honest people that we are, we did. I have to say that considering there were NO facilities I think the £5 was a bit steep, but heck, it was a nice day out.

As you can see from the photos sprinkled so far, we were having fun with our cameras. So I am afraid it is a VERY heavy photo biased post today.

Feel free to scroll down very quickly and not admire our awesome photographs! As ever, I was pants at selecting which to use and so have stuck a whole load in.

 

 

 

 

I think it was a great time to visit as there were still bluebells but so many different azaleas and rhododendrons and because we were doing the treasure trail we had to read everything too which made us look more closely at everything. A good thing for us as we do tend to whizz round places a little.

 We had such a laugh trying to take pictures on the i phone - we kept pressing at the wrong time so we had a whole string of us almost crying with laughter - I deleted most of those. It was NOT a good look.

We did both have our proper cameras though - hence the large number of photos, playing with soft focus and macro and lighting

 This one was gorgeous - looking absolutely white but with the real blush of pink on the back.

There was also lots of water and a total of 11 cascades.

The ferns were gorgeous too - I love how they are like little pincurls and then unfold and unfurl.

 

 

The sun shone all day but there was quite a bit of shade which gave a lovely dappled light that was a nightmare to take photos in. It was very cold in the shade. They have said it is going down to freezing tonight. Not good for a lot of the plants we saw, although rhododendrons are Himalayan based so I guess they can cope.

 

 

 

 

 

And one of them had to be picture of the day and we both liked this one as a reminder of the visit as a whole.

 

So - if you managed to stick with all of that I guess you have earned the usual things seen on a Saturday.

But first for Barb - whose comments each day make me smile from way across the Atlantic -

Barb you asked what CFH stands for. We were warned that having bengals would make us prematurely grey. We were not warned enough. When we had them they earned a nickname within their first few week at home. They were the CFH - Cats From Hell.

 

First - today I am thankful for

• Lovely days out
• Thoughtful friends who know what makes us tick
• Photography days
• The beauty of the natural world
• Bounty ice creams (oh my goodness I'd forgotten how good)

and my page a day calendar today

One Sunday afternoon, I phoned my brother, who lived next door to Mom after Dad passed away. “Mom refuses to go to church,” he told me. “She said it was a waste of time.”

My five siblings and I were astonished. The positive woman who’d raised us had never missed a church service or daily devotion when Dad was alive. But since his funeral, she attended church only sporadically. Now, not even ten years after Dad’s death, she stopped going to services altogether.

Waste of time? We were concerned. “Do you think Mom really lost her faith?” my sister asked. It was a question I’d been wrestling with myself. I wished that I could know for sure.

Mom continued to do other things she loved, painting landscapes and writing articles for local publications, but on Sunday mornings she stayed at home.

Mom was 95 when she died. It looked as though our questions would remain unanswered forever. Her estate was settled and her paintings and manuscripts were distributed among family members. I had searched, hoping to find something that showed Mom’s faith. But I found nothing. Had Mom lost her faith entirely? I wondered. Did she ever have any in the first place?

One morning, feeling discouraged, I entered my home office and stared at my cluttered desk. Time to get back to work and quit looking for answers where there were none. As I sorted through the mess, I came upon a tattered blue spiral-bound notebook at the bottom of the pile. I’ve never seen that before. I opened it and flipped through the pages. Line after line was filled with Mom’s unique handwriting.

“Heavenly Father, thank You for bringing me a restful night’s sleep. Please watch over John as he travels on business.” The following pages contained prayers for all of us. Some entries were dated just weeks before she became ill.

Father, please answer the prayers of mothers everywhere today.

—ANNETTE MCDANIEL

 

A bit of a glitch

Sometimes things don't go as you expect but the unexpected is really completely unexpected. I was all set for a meeting today - all prepared and ready and then - well it didn't happen.

I suddenly and unexpectedly had another massive nose bleed. This was probably the worst I have ever had. I seem to go through phases of having them. Changes in temperature sometimes trigger them and other times they just seem to happen. I am guessing once there is a weak blood vessel it keeps on being weak for a while. But this was gusher. Sorry, too much information. So whilst trying to stem the flow I had to get someone else to do the meeting as an emergency. I was in an awful mess.

My photo of the day is the now empty box of tissues. (well it was the most appropriate picture LOL)

 

I have a new page to share today and it is a ten page. I have been really enjoying my 10 on the 10th album. It is a great challenge each month and the album looks good with so many different pages on different subjects.

Today I have scrapped 10 London landmarks.

There isn't really a black border - that was just to stand out

I lived in London for 4 years whilst at university and I have to say I absolutely hated it. I am not a city girl really and I hated being away from home. The city always seemed grimy and rushed, but I love going there now. I guess because I only visit.

 

I love seeing the famous places. Even at my age I get a buzz when I see the Houses of Parliament or Trafalgar Square or Buckingham Palace. So I picked 10 of my favourite landmarks and scrapped them

 
and yes - more of that gorgeous Dawn Inskip bunting I am in love with at the moment.

Today I am thankful for

• big boxes of tissues
• cookies (Nij is a very very bad boy!)

 

Just loved that LOL cat as I used my battery powered cat in assembly yesterday. Just very apt!

And finally my one minute devotional page from my calendar today

 

Weary of walking the familiar neighborhood route with Lovey, my golden retriever/lab, I cautiously ventured out to the nearby highway, aware that the traffic might frighten her. Sure enough, an 18-wheeler roared past us and terrified Lovey. “It’s okay,” I told my petrified pet in my most reassuring voice. Whenever I heard the rumble of traffic approaching, I’d pull the leash, moving Lovey into the roadside weeds. “It’s okay,” I’d say. She’d turn her head and lock her fearful eyes with mine as if trying to say, I’m afraid! What are we doing out here? Again I’d reassure her, “It’s okay.”

After a week or so of walking on the highway, Lovey continued to turn her head quickly at the first sound of approaching traffic, but she seemed only to need the reassuring word okay to calm her down. Then I started saying, “Okay, girl,” before she turned to catch my eye. Soon, she didn’t even bother to turn and look at me when vehicles zoomed by us. The spoken word conveyed that all was well.

Twenty-two years ago, my husband, Jerry, was dying and everything terrified me. One day, a courageous friend looked me squarely in the eye and announced matter-of-factly, “It’s going to be okay, Marion.”

My rational mind couldn’t understand that simple declaration. How could life ever be okay again? Nevertheless, my desperate spirit held on tightly to the promise. I repeated it to myself as I read medical reports and test results, as I struggled to fill out the unfamiliar medical forms, as I sat and held on to Jerry’s hand. Sometimes I whispered it aloud at night as I tried to fall asleep. Finally, it brought strength and courage even to my stubborn, fearful mind.

Dear Lord, help me to listen daily for Your courageous voice telling me, “It’s going to be okay.”

—MARION BOND WEST

	Thursday	May 2012

They came back!

A little while ago they began the long promised grazing of cattle on the heath next to our home.

Nigel took a photo of them the day they arrived and he has seen them a couple of times since, but I was beginning to believe they were figments of his imagination as I had not seen them.

But they were back last night. We watched them come down the ridge and I was so thrilled to see them. They were still there as it got dark and when I woke up this morning I looked out and they had spent the night there (poor things - in the cold and wet) So I snapped a picture through the window of them right near our fence. I am easily pleased!

 

and I hadn't uploaded yesterday's picture - a photo of the thermostat so I remember how freezing cold it was yesterday and, as it happens, today as well. I have worn clothes thicker and warmer than I wear in the winter.

I have a new page to share again today which was made for the mini cyber crop and challenges at the weekend.

The challenge was to use colours next to each other on the colour wheel so I used green and blue and purple and scrapped some ohotos of the visit the day before to the Tower of London.

I LOVE the tower of London. It just exudes history and then there is also the excitement and beauty of the crown jewels. However I have decided I love it more in the summer when there is a blue sky, no drizzle and less of the biting cold. It was seriously cold and grey and damp on Friday.

Today I am thankful for

• living in the town but feeling like it is the country with the heath and the wildlife and now even the gentle lowing of the cows. Perfection. Countryside and still only 10 minutes from Starbucks.

 

And my one minute devotional page today

 While my wife, Ruby, was recovering from surgery in October, I enjoyed rustling up the meals, carrying trays, and struggling with the housework. When she smiled and her eyes sparkled, it warmed me to the tips of my toes.

Then a neighbor called. “Is there any washing I can do?” she asked.

“No, thanks,” I answered, “I’ve just finished the last load.”

Another neighbor called. “Do you need anything from the store?”

“No, thank you,” I replied. “I’m going out to shop later.”

The next day, I rushed to the library and hurried past my favorite librarian’s desk.

Breathlessly, I searched for a book as she stepped forward to help. I shook my head and asked her to point me in the direction of the book. She remembered the volume and started to give me some additional information. I held up my hand; there wasn’t time to listen. I had to get back to Ruby.

“I’m here to help you, Mr. Greene,” the librarian said. I looked up and saw the hurt in her eyes.

That night, I thought about my encounter with the librarian. How many others had offered me help only to be refused? What about the two neighbors who’d called the day before? I enjoyed doing things for others, but I didn’t know how to let them do things for me. I enjoyed the comfortable feeling of standing on my feet and pulling my own weight. Deep down, I was too proud to accept kindness and too fearful it would make me appear subservient.

It was important to me to be a giver, but I’d forgotten that giving also means being willing to give myself in gratitude, opening my heart and my hand to accept the gifts of others. Tomorrow I would go back to the library and apologize to the librarian. Immediately, I picked up the phone to call my neighbors.

Dear Lord, help me to see the gift I give in receiving graciously.

—OSCAR GREENE

Brrrrrr

It's been cold cold cold all day today. I have huddled in as many layers as I could and feared if I added more I would lose the ability to bend my arms. As it was it was a close thing.

Photo of the day is a picture of my thermostat but I haven't downloaded it yet!

It seems the birds have been cold too judging by how much food they have consumed today. We had five suet balls in one of the feeders and they managed about half of one yesterday. All five have gone. I am guessing the magpies and squirrels have ransacked it thoroughly. I love all creatures but I have to say I am not that keen on magpies. I think they are garden bullies and they seem to delight in scaring the smaller birds away.

Barb it was great to hear your story of Titanic too - thank you for commenting on that.

And I realised I never answered your question about my camera. I use a very small Fuji most of the time - A Fuji Finepix F500 EXR, but a lot of the recent pictures have been taken on my i phone. The camera is really good on it - I have been very impressed.

I have a new page to share today and it is another made withthe fabulous grab bag Dawn Inskip had for iNSD. She has now unpacked it so you can either buy the individual items or still by the somplete grab bag but obviously know what is in it.

It also uses her Dreamcatcher collection which remains one of my all time favourites.

Today I am thankful for

• being warm at last - you know, being cold is a good thing from time to time as it makes us appreciate how lucky we are to have warm, dry, safe places to be. All too often we take it totally for granted. Well I know I do.

My one minute devotional calendar page today is

When the cardiologist scheduled me for a stress test because he suspected I had a blockage in one coronary artery, I was more surprised than frightened. I’d been working out on my treadmill for years, and while my family history included heart disease, I always thought I’d been careful enough to avoid it.

After we moved, however, I had spent six hours one day hauling boxes out of the garage, unpacking them, and then shelving an entire library of books. I might have, in the doctor’s words, “knocked something loose.”

The test would consist of two series of pictures of my heart, each taking about 20 minutes. I would have to lie very still, with my hands behind my head, or they’d have to start the test over again.

I hadn’t counted on my bursitis. After five minutes into the first series, my left shoulder started to hurt, and soon the pain was so bad that I was afraid my body would begin to shake, ruining the pictures.

I was determined not to have to take the test over, and I tried to find all kinds of things to take my mind off of my painful shoulder. Nothing seemed to have an effect until I started reciting the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” I could still feel the pain, but it seemed farther away, and I was no longer apprehensive that the test would be ruined.

Before they took the second set of pictures, I told the nurse about my problems in the first test, and they were able to pad my shoulder so that there wasn’t any pain. So I switched from the 23rd Psalm to Psalm 150:6: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.”

Thank You, Lord, for Your wisdom in giving us a psalm for every occasion.

—RHODA BLECKER

Titanic Exhibition

It has been a bit Bank Holidayish weather here today, well at least this morning. It was grim and grey and wet and so we opted for an indoor activity.

We started off with breakfast out. We had seen that georgie Porgies did breakfast for £5.99 and whilst I wouldn't eat there again for dinner I figured breakfast would be ok. And it was. I don't really do cooked breakfast and it was the lack of hot food that put me off. Nij had cooked and said it was OK but not terribly hot. I did have an omelet which they make whilst you wait and that was good and hot.

All in all it was good value for £5.99 and made a special treat as a one off.

We then headed to the Sea City Museum in Southampton as we wanted to see the Titanic exhibition. It was incredibly quiet on the roads and the museum was quiet when we arrived It was bombed when we left with queues very long and the traffic getting in and out of the city was incredibly heavy. But by the time we were on the way home it was a bit more like May - warm and sunny.

The museum is very good and the exhibits well laid out, varied and informative. Not a free museum, it needed to be good to warrant the cost.

We both enjoyed it and learnt a great deal. I have always been fascinated by the Titanic as it sank on my dad's birthday (though well before he was born) and when my Dad was in the navy he worked for the White Star Line too.

My photo of the day is of some books I bought for the school library as one year group do a project all about Titanic. (Plus I was not allowed to take photos inside)

 
I have a page to share today made with Dee Bee Designs goodies from PBP as part of my CT commitment this month.

Credits

Who You Are collage rubs and clusters set by Dee Bee Designs at Pickleberrypop

Character Counts kit by Dee Bee Designs at Pickleberrypop

The flower clusters and rub ons are totally awesome - expect to see them A LOT

The photo is of Emerald Lake in the Canadian Rockies - a trip we will never forget.

Today I am thankful for

• a day out
• interesting things to see and learn
• a great scrapping opportunity that came my way today

I know people loved the video I shared yesterday so I can't resist another one today - this baby Jaguar called Bella is one of the cats we are going to visit this summer at Panther Ridge and we are so excited. (Bella isn't a baby like this anymore though)

 

and finally my one minute devotional page today from my calendar

Driving to work yesterday, I stopped at a red light. As I absently looked at my hand on the steering wheel, I noticed the long scar on my wrist. Suddenly I drifted back 36 years to the summer following my high school graduation. I was living in my hometown of Fort Valley, Georgia, and working on the assembly line at the Blue Bird school bus factory. Eighteen years old, I was making school buses in order to save money for college.

Bus-body assembly lines are dangerous places. Amid powerful machinery, hydraulic presses, hot metal, and a vast assortment of high-powered tools, it’s easy to get injured. One day, as I cut through a steel beam with a blowtorch, my wrist grazed the sharp, molten edge of the beam. Suddenly I was cut to the bone with a wound that would scar my wrist for life.

For a while the scar was prominent and jagged. Sometimes it would swell, becoming inflamed and painful. But I noticed yesterday that now the jagged scar is smooth, faded, almost unnoticeable. Time has worked its healing wonder.

Sometimes events in our lives wound us so deeply that an emotional scar is left for a lifetime. The death of my father when I was 14 years old cut much more deeply than that steel beam. Yet, over time, I have learned that God has a way of making emotional scars grow smaller, too. A grief that we feared would consume us; a disappointment so intense that it maimed us; a shameful mistake that seared our self-image—all of these things can be healed by time and the loving grace of God.

Father, I am thankful that in You I have found a balm in Gilead that can make the wounded whole.

—SCOTT WALKER