Follow Me Friday

I know this is going to come as shock to many, but I woke up this morning and discovered that it had snowed again. Yes, sometime in the night or early morning hours Mother Nature decided that the children that live in this area were in need of another day off from school. Californians, as well as many European countries are familiar with year round schools. It is beginning to look as if this school district is going to become familiar with it too, without even planning to go that route. If I am not mistaken all of the allotted snow days for the school year were used up before the end of December. Usually when they go over their limit, they take away days from spring break to use as make up days. They do this so they won't have to run the make up days too far into summer vacation. All of that isn't looking too promising at this point. I just hope the senior class will get this year finished in time to start fall classes at the universities of their individual choices.

If you have followed Moodscapes for any length of time you will remember that at end of this past summer we put our house on the market in hopes of getting it sold so we can move to town. There were many factors involved in our decision to do this. However, we cancelled the contract with the Realtors right before the holidays. During that time there was only one nibble, but the couple that was interested were wanting to buy on land contract. I had a bad experience with a land contract before and we weren't interested in taking that avenue, so they never came to look at the house.  

We received a message the other day that someone else had inquired about the house and are we still interested in selling. With the real estate market as slow as it is right now, we decided to list the house again in hopes that we can get it sold before winter rolls around again. This means that our plates are going to be pretty full for the next few days getting the cob webs knocked down and preparing the house to be shown again. With a few breaks in the mix for me to have blood work done, a follow up appointment on Tuesday with the doctor for the results of the MRI of my brain  and then on Wednesday I am scheduled for a needle biopsy. Wish us luck on all of this.

I'm taking part in 'Follow Me Friday'. Lydia @ Still On The Verge is hosting this weekly event. It looks like a great way to find new blogs, make new friends and get new followers. So why not take a few minutes and click your way over to see Lydia and join the fun. Don't forget to add yourself as a new follower here at Moodscapes before you go. You will find the Follow Me Widget on my side bar.

Have a Blessed Weekend!

  

Mosaic Monday

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.  ~Anne Bradstreet

After three months of being laid off and struggling with everything from the finances to finding another job, my daughter is once more gainfully employed. With a little networking, a few phone calls, an immediate interview and she was hired on the spot Friday and is starting her first day on a new job today. Our God is so Awesome. Lots of prayers went up and God's abundant love came pouring down. A huge amount of Thanks to all those that kept those prayers going up.

  May you be wrapped in a quilt of God's warm blessings until your springtime arrives.

  

Join me at the Little Red House to visit more blogs taking part in Mosaic Monday.

Share The Joy Thursday

Life takes many twists and turns along the way. You follow the path as it is laid out for you and try not to question HOW, WHO or WHY. There is sorrow, pain and disappointment along the way that you tend to carry with you. You need to examine these things and study them for a while to understand what you are supposed to learn from them. At some point though you must lay the sorrow, pain and disappointment aside. Hopefully the journey will be long and unless these experiences are set aside they become heavy and burdensome until they become overwhelming and are all that we see and feel.


While traveling on this same path there are experiences that would otherwise be the same, that needs to be laid aside after studying except for one reason. That reason being the people or person in your life at that time. An experience that could be unpleasant can instantly be turned into one that brings laughter and JOY! all because of the reaction to the action.

Such is the experience of falling down (not a good thing for someone that has two new knees) and being pulled out of the snow and ice by the love of your life. So many times since we have begun our journey together, my husband has helped turn what could have been my unpleasant experiences and heavy baggage into backpack memories that I can carry with me because they are light and JOYful. 

The JOY! that I share with you today is my husband, J.D. 

Why not join me at Meri's Musings 

to share in more JOY!

May your journey be blessed with JOY!

The House With Nobody In It

THE HOUSE WITH NOBODY IN IT
by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

HENEVER I walk to Suffern along the Erie track

I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black.

I suppose I've passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute

And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it.

 

I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things;

That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings.

I know this house isn't haunted, and I wish it were, I do;

For it wouldn't be so lonely if it had a ghost or two.

 

This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass,

And somebody ought to weed the walk and take a scythe to the grass.

It needs new paint and shingles, and the vines should be trimmed and tied;

But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside.

 

If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid

I'd put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade.

I'd buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be

And I'd find some people who wanted a home and give it to them free.

 

Now, a new house standing empty, with staring window and door,

Looks idle, perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store.

But there's nothing mournful about it; it cannot be sad and lone

For the lack of something within it that it has never known.

 

But a house that has done what a house should do, a house that has sheltered life,

That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife,

A house that has echoed a baby's laugh and held up his stumbling feet,

Is the saddest sight, when it's left alone, that ever your eyes could meet.

 

So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track

I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,

Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,

For I can't help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart.

"The House with Nobody in It" was originally published in Trees and Other Poems. Joyce Kilmer. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1914.

A special thank you to my dear friend Ellie Mae at 'Over Good Ground' for pointing me in the direction of this poem. I wasn't quite ready to walk away from yesterday's post and this poem seemed to be what I needed to finalize it. You Know me so well, my friend.

May God hold you in the palm of His hand. 

Mosaic Monday

To look at this house today, most people would just dismiss it as an old run down, forgotten house that is slowly being reclaimed by nature. However a closer look and a listening ear might tell a story of a happy young couple that once made this house their home. A home where they planned to raise their four children. A home filled with love, happiness and laughter. A home where music was plentiful. A home where evening entertainment for the children might be shadow puppets done my their mother.

Life can turn cruel when you least expect it though. My husband's father was 37 years old when TB took his life. Suddenly J.D.'s mother found herself a single parent with four children to raise on her own. J.D. was 9 years old and remembers the day that his daddy died and how he felt as he watched him being carried away. 

The shell of the house that was once home to J.D. and his brothers and sister still stands. The memories that they share, keeps their childhood home from fading into the landscape.   

  

Join me at Mary's Little Red House For links to more Mosaic Monday participants. Have a blessed week.

Share The Joy Thursday

As the snow continues to fall outside my window on this fine Thursday morning, I am finding my JOY in the warmth radiating from the little wood stove in the kitchen and a soothing cup of coffee.

I was hoping to share whatever news I received yesterday about my MRI results, but due to obstacles beyond my control I didn't make it to the doctor's office. The sheriff's office had issued a Snow Emergency Level 1 warning until 7PM. A Level 1 warning means that the roads are hazardous and may be icy in places. To reach the main roads, we first need to travel 5 miles down J.D.'s mountain. By 10AM I still hadn't seen or heard the snow plow bopping up and down our road performing it's magic with that road salt. Taking all of this into consideration, J.D. and I decided it would probably be best to reschedule my appointment. So now we wait until February 2nd for those results.

I have appointments coming up the first of next week to discuss two other test results with other doctors. God willing and we don't get hammered with another snow storm come Monday morning, I should have at least a few answers by Tuesday.

Why not join us at 'Share The Joy Thursday' and share what has brought JOY into your life. May you find blessings in all that you do today!

Amid The Falling Snow

Lyrics to Amid The Falling Snow 

~ Enya

How I remember sleepless nights

When we would read by candlelight,

And on the windowpane outside

A new world made of snow;

A million feathers falling down,

A million stars that touch the ground,

So many secrets to be found

Amid the falling snow.

Maybe I am falling down.

Tell me should I touch the ground?

Maybe I won't make a sound

In the darkness all around.

The silence of a winter's night

Brings memories I hold inside;

Remembering a blue moonlight

Upon the fallen snow.

Maybe I am falling down.

Tell me should I touch the ground?

Maybe I won't make sound

In the darkness all around.

I close my window to the night.

I leave the sky her tears of white.

And all is lit by candlelight

Amid the falling snow

I was so pleased to find the lyrics to the song that is playing from my play list right now, so  I can share those words with you. For some with hearing problems, the words can be elusive. I have been a fan of Enya's music since the first time that I heard her. Enya's music has always seemed to calm me no matter what was weighing on my mind or on my heart. When my mother died from cancer in 2001, I found myself sleepless most nights as I laid in bed at night, a lifetime of memories of my mother played through my mind. It was almost as if I had to keep replaying those memories over and over so I wouldn't loose even the smallest detail from any of them. I just didn't seem to be able to turn them on and off. I started listening to Enya as I struggled to sleep and the music seemed to wash over me with a calmness that allowed me to drift off to sleep.

Our winter storm of 2011 did arrive yesterday as forecast. I just wish that the previous snow had been melted away before it got here. Here on JD's Mountain we tend to have temperatures that run a few degrees colder than what is just 5 miles down at the base. That difference between living in the clouds and those five miles down has often meant that we will still have snow for two weeks after it is gone everywhere else. We are so thankful though that the county is as a rule, very quick and dependable about cleaning our road and keeping it cleared. 

This is especially important to me today since I have a follow-up appointment to discuss the findings of an MRI I had recently. I have been having some health issues and hopefully this appointment will be able to explain the cause and treatment of at least some of those health issues. I am trying to take a positive attitude and trust that I will be able to "Share The Joy Thursday".    

A special welcome to my new friends and followers of Moodscapes, as well as my long time friends and followers. I hope that you will always be able to find something positive here to take with you as you travel through your day. At least a smile and the warmth of friendship to hold you over until your next visit.

~Winter Blessings To All ~ 

Mosaic Monday (a day late)

I thought I would revisit the winter

of 2009 while I wait for the incoming

storm of 2011.

Ohio Winter Poem

It's winter in Ohio

And the gentle breezes blow

Seventy mile an hour

At thirty-five below.

Oh how I love Ohio

When the snow's up to your butt

You take a breath of winter air

And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful...

So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Ohio
Cause I'm frozen to the ground!

Note from Jo: Once more I have come upon a poem that is so fitting for the here and now that I had to share it with you. Unfortunately it is one that comes without the name of it's creator. If anyone knows the author of this cute little bit of winter poetry please leave a comment so I give credit where it is due. 

Winter Blessings To You!

Home Sweet Home

“Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need.”

                                                             

 ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach 

Home is indeed where the heart is!

Share The Joy Thursday

Every journey contains twists and turns in the path ahead, as well as areas of shadows and light. While walking in the shadows my heart is filled with fear of the unknown which lies ahead of me. During this time it is so easy to feel as if I am alone. Joy is when I take that one step into the light and discover that I have never been alone. 


May your journey be filled with light, friendship and loved ones!

Why not join me at Share The Joy Thursday.

   

Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. 

~ Robert Frost

Should we ponder how many miles we have yet to go or just continue our journeys without giving thought to it regardless of how emotionally and physically tired we are?

May your journey be blessed!

Mosaic Monday

'Meet Miss Lucy'

This weeks mosaic is of my grandpuppy, Lucy. She is a Cairn Terrier and an important part of my daughter's family and our lives. It is one thing when your own little four legged children are happy to see you, but something else all together when one that your only see once a month, at the most, thinks you are the greatest thing since peanut butter dog treats. Well folks that would be the welcome I always receive from my Miss Lucy.  She now tries to communicate with me verbally. I speak to her and she will roll and wiggle all over the place and make throaty noises using her mouth like she is trying to form words. I love you my furry little grandpuppy and think you are pretty great too.

No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.  

~Christopher Morley

 

 Join me at Little Red House to visit more blogs taking part in Mosaic Monday. Have a Great Week.

Desiderata

Go placidly among the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism. 

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. 

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. 

(c) Max Ehrman 1926 

Quite a few years ago, when I first read this verse, I found the message that it delivered to be 'Words To Live By'. Since then I make it a point of reading it at the start of each new year. I thought I would share those wise words with you today. 

We have no control as to what obstacles we will encounter as we travel through this life of ours. We do though have the option of either controlling them or allowing them to control us. Regardless of what we are dealing with in our personal lives, if we just take a minute each day to look past it all, we will see that the world is a beautiful place. 

May you be blessed and take pleasure in the beauty of the world around you!     

 

Happy 2011

A new day, a new year and a chance for all of us to have a new beginning. It can't possibly get any better than that. I woke up this morning to the sound of rain tapping on the tin roof over my head. My first thought was how strange it is to be hearing that sound on New Years Day, instead of the silence I should be hearing as snow drifts down from the heavens. From those thoughts my mind turned to how fortunate and grateful I am to have that roof over my head, when there are so many people on this very day that has no roof to shelter them from the rain or snow. 

  

I was up by 5:30 this morning and enjoyed a smidgen of quiet time, which I used sipping a cup of coffee, sending Birthday greetings to our now 18 year old granddaughter (Happy Birthday Brittany) and thinking about the New Year's resolutions that I won't be making. It didn't take me long to figure out that it was pointless to make lists every year of resolutions that I knew I would not keep. For instance, there were a lot of resolutions in my lifetime to quit smoking. I didn't quit, if anything the stress of even thinking about laying down those cigarettes and walking away from them, prompted me to smoke more. When my youngest grandson was born we spent a lot of time on the road, taking him back and forth for blood work to be done because he had jaundice when he came home from the hospital. What helped me give up smoking was looking at Seth through the car window one wet rainy day, while I stood outside puffing away. I asked myself how long was I going to allow a little tobacco stick to control my life and separate me from my grandchildren, children, and husband. So no resolutions from me on any given New Year's Day. What ever changes I need to make in my life will come when it is time for it to happen.

I do have the New Year's 'Good Luck' food cooking as I type. Since J.D. and I have been married, we get a double dose of Good Luck each year. I fix black eyed peas, rice and cornbread for my southern raised husband. For me, I fix that traditional northern menu of a pork roast, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Of course we eat a sampling of it all.  You just can never have too much good luck.

As you dig into your New Year meal today, I hope along with the tasty food that will nourish your bodies, that you will receive a double helping of blessings. Happy New Year from our house to yours.