Summer Time When the Living is Easy.

Broken Arrow has a small fun Farmers Market.  I don't usually buy much there....but it is fun to go.  I've bought a couple of craft items from a lady who gotes to COTM....and because I would like to learn how to do this for stepping stones.  Then I like the goat cheese and a few items such as that.    Ken and I both were intrigue by the blind Basset Hound.  Bless his heart.

I think I do less and less gardening every year.  Have done very little to the front flower bed and it does show.  This is it at its best.    The wild violets are trying to take over.  oh my!

RAMBLINGS ... THIS OLE' BODY IS GROWING OLD .... The battle to overcome.

I no longer conform to this world -- I am transformed by renewing my mind. By renewing my mind, I prove what is God's will is for my life and I accomplish HIS GOOD PLEASURE AND HIS PERFECT WILL in my behalf. Romans 12:2

Joel Gave me a Shepherds Crook to get rid of muscle knots.

 As I grow older, there seem to be added challenges - body, mind, soul, spirit.  All tied together.... the aches, the pains and the stuff  I've tried to over come

 So here is how I deal with growing old in body:

Chiropractors, vibrator machines for the neck, the back the feet.

I feel like we pretty much have tried it all at some time or another.

Braggs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar daily in a glass of filtered water.

Eight to ten glasses of water a day.




Ken provided foot and back vibrators.



I eat all of the below mentioned foods with great faith.

I've tried reflexology on both hand and foot

I've grown familiar with all the foods that fight that nasty inflammation that tries to settle in my joints.



One remedy that Ken has insisted on is the yellow raisins in a flask of Gin. Soak raisins 7 days then eat nine raisins daily. (These raisins were so old they lost their Golden.)

Yellow Raisins and Gin work pretty good

And then there is that Omegas from fish, glorious fish.

Ever cooked one of these before

Then there is the hot wax machine.

The bike, ball and trampoline for  indoor activities.

What about the orthotics -- you know, the shoe inserts

Love that Fresh Fruit

Avacados, Bananas, Fresh Ginger Root

Real Cinnamon and Raw Honey Treatments

Or protein shakes.....even green smoothies.

Spinach Smoothies

Green is Good

 Then there are exercise tools.  But what it all boils down to, is only God -- my Great Healer and being grounded in Him and His WORD.  I am whole.  I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Out with the toxic, in with the health good.  And life is GOOD.   I am picturing my life and comparing it to our beautiful Leyland Cypress Trees we have in our back yard.  



Crab Cakes and fresh Fruit

 





Pawns

At one time there were eight of them and they were beautiful.  Then the ice storm hit and their roots were too shallow.  Five of them fell.  Ken proped them up repeatedly until they rebelled and gave up.  It left us with three beautiful Leyland Cypress.  Then there were two years of drought here in Oklahoma and it weakened the three healthy ones.  So the Seiridium Canker attack came and we ignored it.  If only we had cut those dead brown branches out one at a time as they attact -- but we ignored it.  And it spread.



Salads -- Ahi in this one.



And so does our lives go.   One little toxic thought and it is ignored.  Another comes and then another until our branches are dying.    God by your grace and with determination The Canker of my life has to go.   I'm clipping it out along with those healthy tools of vibrators, good foods and plenty of exercise.



A Gift of A Date Night

Kevin and family, gave us a great Christmas gift.....a DATE!

We started by visiting Barnes and Nobel book store for a coffee and a time with the books.  Ken had looked at the movie time wrong so we had a couple of hours.

After a fun time in the book store and a random roam through Old Navy, we decided to go for the Pizza.  Top That was a new place for us but IT WAS GOOD!    I went for the Basil Pesto, Italian sausage, mushroom and black olive pizza with a salad.  Of course Ken needed all meat. 

Even the salad was a 'select 3 topings' deal.  Who can guess which belonged to which of us. 

Now we were closer to the time that the movie started and we headed around the corner to the AMC .... all were in the same 41st street area of town.  Pretty cool. 

You guessed it, James Bond 007 in Skyfall.   A lot of action and suspense for a couple of ole' guys. 

Thanks Kevin, Devin and Hailey, we had a wonderful time.

Today is Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, the holiday set aside to remember those who have given their lives for our freedom.  In reality, there is a whole lot of 'first day of summer' kind of celebrating going on,and this year, people are flocking to the lakes by the thousands. 
I never was much for going to cemeteries or for putting flowers on graves.  I drive by and see flowers everywhere -- but our loved ones are not really there.   I just never developed an appreciation for that custom.   The past is over and I hope I've learned the lessons in life I should  learn, but life is all about living today to the fullness of God's blessing.  It is about making myself line up with God's Word and being more and more Christ-like each day.  Living a Christ-like. life  would be MEMORABLE.     

Today, I am working a six-hour shift at the Sorenson Call Center.  I've noticed the calls are a tiny bit slower -- people  are out and about.  But the major topic of the day is either no awareness that this is a holiday, or plans for cooking out.   So we have another holiday that has turned into a food fest -- this one concentration on BBQ or grilling.  The reason why I opted to work today is for the money....strictly about worldly cash ..... time and a half.    Ha-ha.



Perky Pimento Cheese



 Now I have done a bit of activity in the kitchen

In preparation for a cook out at the Scharph's home, I did potato salad, watermelon slices and Perky Pimento Cheese made with pepper jack cheese and sharp cheddar.  It was a hit. 

 The Scharpf Family went berry picking along with Bonita and her kids.  They picked Raspberries, Blueberries and Blackberries.  April is showing me the size of the berries.

Groupon Anonymous

Cafe Ole' Dinner for Two



 Is there an Online Coupon Shoppers anonymous anywhere in town.  I think I might need to attend.



Pawcasso's Academy of Animal Art

  I have been having so much fun with Groupon and Living Social .... items half price. ..... things I may not necessarily buy ....  For example: we've tried three different grooming places for our puppy.  I had a massage (bought with the thought it was a gift for my daughter).
I've given all kinds of gifts to my husband:  taken him to new restaurants, purchased him a full day at a shooting range, car washes, oil changes, tire rotations, ear muffs, water bottles.

And then, of course,  the grand kids: purses,  jewelry,  hamburgers, painting classes, horseback riding lessons, Purple Glaze .......



Three 1-hour Riding Lessons

  Will this ever end?
I bought the first house cleaning I've ever paid for in my life.  Two ladies worked for four hours to clean my house for $79 plus a $30 tip.   They did a good job.  I may have broken through the phobia that someone else will see my dirt.
We've had our heating and air conditioning system serviced, $20 worth of food at the Fresh Market for $10 and the list  goes on and on.
Truly, the only bad deal I've gotten so far is the Cake Chics.  I saved that coupon for Christmas -- got gourmet (????) cupcakes and eclairs. Not good!  The eclairs ended up being tossed and the cupcakes were nothing special ..
I've given restaurant coupons away as gifts and haircuts as birthday presents.


Birthday Presents for the Grandkids

  Basically, it is fun because all I do is click a button and here it comes.   Feels like a kid that says, "Mommy, just use your credit card."
I do have a feeling it is time to put a halt to this.  OK, where is GROUPON ANONYMOUS meeting for me?

Parched, Burnt, Pruned, And Still One Can Find Beauty

Ken made this sign 45 years ago--Survivor Evidence!

Oklahoma has had an extremely HOT SUMMER with forty-three days over 100 degrees and too many of those days 110 and up to 117 degrees of heat and little to no rain.  It has taken a toll on the Scrivner property as it has all of Oklahoma. Right now there are so many grass fires.  When the city tree- trimmers came to 'scalp' us even more, I grabbed the little Fuji for some photos bearing out evidence of a tough time of heat and pruning.  The tree trimmers are preparing for winter and the ice storms that possibly break electrical lines and they are TOUGH on trees.     This blog is set to bear witness that Scrivner's are tough survivors as well as our surroundings.




Ken took this panarama of our front yard in the spring with his IPhone

 And this is this morning's sun shinning through the trees that I am shooting into.

Can you see the workman back there? 

And here is another man up in a little maple. 

Here are the wires they are cutting away from and oh my, did they cut a lot off of that old Pecan Tree. The man climbed almost to the top with his saw.

They left us half of a Pecan Tree

Can you believe we have patches of dead fescue grass in our yard -- even with a sprinkling system and a very high water bill!  Yes, this is an area of our front yard where the sprinkler must miss...and it is Fescue so no need to water now until we can throw new seed.  Even worse, you should see what the moles are doing....they make it double trouble.

But life is not all bad.  There are areas of green.  What is shown in the background are the Pecan branches cut from our largest Pecan Tree in the back. They will be ground into mulch for the city.

In the spring, I set out a number of garden pots on the back deck.  Four different kinds of tomatoes, two different varieties of lavender, thyme, parsley, several mints, basil, etc.   The goal was to choose hardy plants which could survive Oklahoma Heat.  But they did not survive this year.  Now in the beginning, it was wonderful -- until mid June -- and by mid July, there was death around us.  So Sad!   Ken had planted Marigolds to keep pests away.  Only one out of the six marigold plants live -- shouldn't marigolds survive anything?  

Knowing that with God all things are possible and when we trust HIM, HE brings new life out of death,  I decided to go searching the yard for signs of beauty and of life.  Although not easily visible, I did find some glorious beauty.     

The hibiscus bloomed very late but it did bloom. 

Our angel guards a few seeds from the cone flowers. 

The pampas grass was 'hanging in there' and the Cone Flowers had two tiny pale blossoms left. The Swan on the deck had one lonely pink petunia among the dried up stems and then the Crape Myrtles....Crape Myrtles always withstand the summer heat. But ours suffered from the harsh winter so the main branchs produced nothing and the shooters from beneath gave us late flowers.  The Mexican Petunias from Millie, did finally sprout and I found one lonely blossom.

Having shown all of this, I see my life moving in similar cycles.  Beauty, success, bearing fruit and them moving into periods of parched, dry, burned and fruitless.   Yet, there is always hope and never an end....it is a cycle which returns to fruitfulness and glorious hope.

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart:  don't try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;  He's the one who will keep you on track.  Don't assume that you know it all.  Run to God! Run from evil!  Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!  Honor God with everything you own; give HIM the first and the best.  Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.  But don't dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction.  It's the child HE loves that God corrects;  a father's delight is behind all this.:  Prov 3: 5-10 The Message.