Friday, January 16, 2015

Friday Snapshots!

It's been a wonderful Friday!
I woke up to blue skies and the sun shining and birds singing!!!
As soon as I carried out the trash, I stopped and filled the main bird feeders - an act of appreciation for all the beautiful birdsong!

Louis Dean slept in while I reheated a cup of yesterday's coffee and got ready to drive over to Fort Worth.


Mother and I had breakfast at The Dixie House!
She thoroughly enjoyed her coffee.

From there I had a few errands to do.
My beloved Bernina sewing machine has been in hospital for the last week and I was thrilled that she was well and wanted to come home!!!


I wanted to pick up a box of wine and stopped at a new place on Hulen close to Mother's salon.


Oh, my GOODNESS!
This place was HUGE!!!!
It covers an acre of space and was BEAUTIFUL!!!


I took lots of photos!!
I would so love to be sitting here - for REAL!


Or HERE!!!!


I spent more time looking than I did shopping!!!


Of course I was interested in all the ART!!!


It truly was a WORLD of wines!!!
I bought a couple of bottles of bubbly for our upcoming Valentine's Jam Session Party.....


and then I found MY section.
I am the queen of BOX wines!!!
Today I chose two boxes of The Naked Grape.....
a Chardonnay and a Pinot Grigio.
I also picked up a Black Box of Sauvignon Blanc - which I can't even pronounce!
That should hold me for a good long time.


I took Mother home and we continued our visiting.
She loves her little corner office in the kitchen!
She and I did a game of the hidden objects workbook.
This is a good mental exercise for ALL ages!!!
Mother found as many as I did!!
And just as quickly!
We were BOTH stumped on a few - and I showed her the answer key in the back of the book!!


Mother is loving her life!


She is still as GIRLY Girl!!!


Almost every visit she says, "I love you anyway!"
??

I arrived back home earlier than usual and started in on my after Christmas take down and clean up!


The weather was finely nice enough for Louis Dean to go outside to play!


He burned up a good bit of trash wood - giving us a nice fire to enjoy this evening.
We grilled steaks and I baked some potatoes. Let's just say it smelled very good out there tonight!!


While HE worked outside - I worked inside.


The sewing room had already been cleared of the Christmas decorations.
Now it is also CLEAN!!!
Spot the candle?
That's always the sign of a 'clean' room.
I have only TWO candles burning tonight!
The sewing room and the den.


My Bernina is back home and sitting on her throne.


As I cleaned you can see Louis Dean holding court in the gazebo.
We are all about royalty around here tonight!


I treated myself to a rather pricey apron pattern when I picked up my Bernina.
$10 but I intend to make a LOT of aprons from it!


As a matter of fact - I have several sewing projects lined up!
This table will clear off easily for me to cut out my patterns!
Soon! Very soon!


All the shelves in here hold such treasures.


Everything here is special to me.


I have always loved Greek and Latin and kept all the teaching material from the days I spent homeschooling.
I fully intend to take it down and brush up on it!
Soon! Very SOON!


When I arrived home today, what should I find on my porch but a Tea Party in a BOX!!!!
It was from our dear friend, Dawn, in Florida!!!!
I have already brewed up a batch and I will think of her with every sip!!!
Thank you, my sweet friend!!!


Louis Dean just added some fresh wood to the fire and we are about to go out and enjoy a glass of wine to close out this Friday.
As wonderful as this day was to US - to others it was a day of grieving and sorrow.

This morning we learned that Louis Dean's sister in law, Judy, passed away after a battle with cancer.
She was the widow of Louis Dean's younger brother who was killed in a hunting accident many years ago. She had remarried and raised her wonderful sons and had an amazing life. She was a true woman of FAITH. 

Then this evening we saw where a quad mom gave birth to four healthy babies on Wednesday only to lose her life before she even saw them.
My heart is broken for this family.
This hits pretty close to home for me. Amber very nearly lost HER life and I will never forget those last few days when I wondered if we would lose her AND the babies ...... or just her.
I know God has a plan and I am committed to praying and helping this family every way I can.
Still, tonight as I sit gazing into the fire......my heart is with that quad mom's MOM.
God bless her and hold her very close to you tonight.


14 comments:

Deb said...

Sounds like a wonderful Friday...so nice to see the sun! I'm sorry for your loss...so sad for the Quad family ...hugs and prayers

Denise said...

Your mother looks so good and I love hearing her talk! What a lovely day you had. So heartbreaking about the quad mom. Have you ever been to
Goody-Goody in DFW? We love that store! We hope to get out that way this year and I PLAN on seeing you and Louis Dean and hopefully the quads!

Ginny Hartzler said...

So much sorrow in this world. There is a quote somewhere that "life is a veil of tears", and I say that often. Though I try always to remain upbeat and lift people up, I do remember that basically life is hard. Your mom is so sweet! I love those staircase railings with the lavender doors! The railings have no stairs, so COOL! I can't go up steps anyway, so this would suit me just fine! I love playing find it with our girls.

Linda said...

What a fun day, Linda, and so glad to see your mom came back home with you to continue the visit. Love your photos.

Kathy said...

You really did have a wonderful day today. You were so productive! I have the last little bits of Christmas to clear out here. Almost all snowmen and snowflakes now. In a few weeks it will be all hearts and flowers! How the seasons change.

I am so sorry for the loss in LD's family and for that poor family of the quad mom. When we hear things like this we realize how very blessed we really are. We will be praying for those families.

Hootin Anni said...

A wonderful post...tho so very bitter sweet. Life is good, and yet so very scary at times. I was always told God only hands us things that we can readily handle and learn. This I hold close to me.

Susie said...

Linda, Your mom is so sweet. She does look so much better than she did a while back. Bless her heart. You are a good daughter, ,mother and grandmother. Glad you got your machine fixed, mine needs it...I have not even tried using it for over a year, because it makes me angry. So I need to take it in. Blessings for a great weekend, xoxo,Susie
p.s. praying for that quad family, so sad.

Arlene G said...

I always look forward to visiting your blog Linda...I feel as if I have been out on your errands with you! So sad about the death of the young mom. As an old nurse I know that having multiples can cause many complications for mom. It is good to know that God is in control in these circumstances.

MadSnapper said...

love those staircases and the girly girl looks so good.. so does LD

Beth said...

Oh, Linda, so sad for the quads' mom who passed away. Life will be very difficult at least for a time for that family and especially the husb/father. So sorry for your loss as well. There is a lot of sadness in the world and at the same time a lot of good as well. We just live our lives as best we can, care about and help others, and serve our Lord Jesus Christ and trust in our God to help us through whatever circumstances we face. He gives HOPE and that is such a wonderful gift. God bless you and your family.

peggy said...

I always love your pictures and I have to say I am a fan of your Mom's. I am so sorry for the sad news, it makes us feel so small but our God is big and He is going to be right there.

Penny said...

Your mum looks truly beautiful in that photograph Linda, and I love to hear how happy and contented you are in this post. I love how you fit so much in to each day. I just wished we lived nearer each other, but I am so glad we found each others' blogs, and can visit often. Sending love X

Diana Ferguson said...

Just checking in! So glad you enjoyed your day with your mom. Prayers for that quad mom's entire family.

Anonymous said...

Linda, your mother has the sweetest smile! I'm sorry to hear about Louis Dean's sister-in-law. Prayers for everyone. {{HUGS}}