roses on weathered wood

There is something profoundly beautiful about this picture.

A bouquet of delicate pink roses

 tied with a satin ribbon 

thrown down on a weathered walkway 

to the beach.

I desire to pick up these flowers,

take them home,

put them in my grandmother's vase,

place them where they

can be seen and enjoyed by all.

I think about the beauty of God's word

thrown down here

into this world of sin.

God,

the God of the universe,

the creator and sustainer of life,

actually wrote a book for us.

The beauty of the words in

 His book

outshine any words

 that have ever been written.

What will we do with this thing of great beauty?

Will we leave it lying on a shelf

covered in dust,

or will we pick it up,

place in an accessible place,

then read and treasure it every day?

Hopefully,

the Bible

 holds a place of great worth in your life.

Read and study it daily....

doing so will make you wise.

if i could own a shop....

.....this would be it!

It is a bakery.

This is where I buy my lemon meranges.

It is a gourmet sandwich shop,

fresh artisan breads,

the finest cold meats,

delicious salads.

There are cheeses from all over the world......

a whole section

 dedicated only to them.

You eat on picnic tables

running down the center of the store.

All around the walls are interesting things,

pottery, dinnerware, kitchen linens, spices, glassware,

all to my liking.

The smells emanating from this place 

pull you inside.

Look at the big order letters, 

and the pictures on the wall,

 and the cases holding the food.

Just all so well thought out.

And....

in the evening.....dinner is served

in a beautiful,

 white tablecloth dining room.

Love this place

Backinnalia

Westside Star Provisions District

Downtown Atlanta

If I could own a shop, this would be it!

skyline of atlanta.....

.....from our hotel room in the sky.

This picture was taken just before sunset

when the lights on the buildings were beginning to shine.

Bubba had a little retirement party to attend

and I tagged along...

always happy to make the short trip up to our former home.

While in the big city,

we managed to hit some of our favorite places to eat,

did a little antiquing,

 a wee little bit of shopping,

and some good ole resting and relaxing.

Today, coming home,

we rode down to Fayetteville

to view our old house.

The years we spent there were very good years for us.

David and Amanda finished

 high school and college,

moved to places far away,

and got themselves married with a couple of children,

all while we lived there.

Bubba finished out his career

 and retired there.

We traveled all over,

(loved being so near to the airport)

met and knew many great people,

had lots of friends and fun.

We were there in the prime of our lives.

Wouldn't go back,

 but loved it there.

On the way home today we stopped by 

the Fresh Aire BBQ in Macon for lunch,

we stopped in Metter for the best boiled peanuts ever,

and we talked and talked.

There's a special blessing from the Lord,

living with and sharing life with your best friend

Home!

My flowers need watering....

 wish it would rain.

I'm always a little out of sorts on the day I return home from a trip.

big beautiful blooms

I finally outsmarted the little fellas.....

the hungry, hungry deer will not come up on the porch

so,

my geraniums are safe at last.

I use Blooming and Rooting

by ferto.lome.

they are filled with blooms 

and big,

 thick, 

green leaves.

While chatting with Amanda this morning,

I told her that Bubba said,

"Cathy, we (meaning me) need to watch our spending in the coming weeks."

To which she replied,

"Yes mom, you are nuts.....  

You spend all of your money on flowers."

I had not thought of that,

but she is right.

Between deer repellent

 and fertilizer 

and clay pots

and new flowers to replace the ones the deer eat,

I have been spending a bundle.

So glad she called this to my attention.

Plus our water bill is sky high.

If you miss one day watering in this heat,

they are drooping like crazy.

Having flowers is a tiring,

expensive,

rat race but

they sure are beautiful.

#Cathy on the back porch so proud of her geraniums.

dragonfly

This dragonfly stays around my back porch

entertaining us

 eating bugs

and hovering.

Last evening Lucy and Harry were amazed by this beautiful creature.

Lucy named him Martin.

He was so tame,

almost like he was playing with them.

He let Lucy get this close to take a picture.

Look at the intricate wings,

so frail,

and yet they enable him to hover and fly.

He has a bright green nose

and a brilliant blue body.

What an amazing God is our God.....

the care he takes to fashion and design

the smallest creature.

No man can make a dragonfly.

If you read and study God's word

you can get to know Him in a real and intimate way.

It is worth the time.

The world wants to downplay God,

but all you have to do is look at His creation

and you know that He is real.

"Then God saw everything that He had made,

and indeed it was very good."

Genesis 1:31

*God watered my flowers for me tonight!

art camp

Jake and Eli went to

Art Camp last week at their school.

From what I hear they had a great time with their friends.

They each had a project to make

and then they wrote a book

about what they created. 

What a fun way to pass the summer.

This week is Vacation Bible School at their church.

Love these boys!

Cannot wait until they arrive for their summer stay

with grammy and granddaddy.

This is Eli with his rocket.

They could choose their own materials.

Then, he illustrated it and wrote a book.

I think the hand signal is a show of extreme power.

All seven year olds have it!

This is Jake's masterpiece.

Of course, his has something to do with outer space as well.

Love these boys to the moon and back,

forever and ever.

We'll be watching for your car to come into

our driveway very soon.

Love and kisses,

Grammy

happy birthday amanda

Today Amanda turns 38 years old.

How can it be that long since she came into my life?

She has been a joy and a delight

all of her days.

She lives in paradise,

that's what I call it anyway.

She inherited my love of the beach,

my hair,

my love of all things fun,

bows and ruffles,

good food,

and her daddy's feet.

Yes, her feet look just like Bubba's feet.

She ministers to women

 helping them take care of themselves with exercise.

She keeps everybody laughing.

One lady that she trains personally

gave her a Louie Vuitton wallet for a birthday gift.

She found a career later in life,

that is perfect for her.

She has inspired me (her old mom) to exercise regularly.

She and Mark gave us 

Jake & Eli,

who will be coming to stay with us in a few days.

Gifts of love....always giving!

Happiest Birthday ever, Amanda.

I am adding the picture for fun....

It doesn't get any better than this with boys!

this is summer....

I love summer....

love to walk outside 

and have the warmth envelope me.

Love to feel the soft breeze

wrap itself around my body like a warm blanket.

Love to watch my flowers grow,

to give them water to drink from the hose,

spraying a little of the cool water

on my bare skin.

I love the long days.

I love that it is still light when I go to bed.

Bubba always laughs at me for hitting the hay so early.

I love that when I wake up 

the sun is already up and shinning in my window.

saying....

"Get up, Get up, there are fun things to do."

I love to be immersed in water.

I love to ride the waves

 in the ocean

and get lost in the foam of their curls.

I love to be barefoot in the sand feeling its warmth through my toes.

I love to drink lemonade and sweet tea.

I love fireworks on the

4th of July,

decorating the golf cart in red white and blue, 

and riding merrily along.

I love that our skin is browning up,

and our hair is getting blonder.

I love the look on the children's faces when they jump in the pool.

I love summer!

I love you too!

savannah from above

I think she is beautiful.

Thought you would enjoy this picture.

Love the new bridge in the background in the sunset.

I guess that will always be called

"the new bridge."

I think this was taken from the roof of the

Desoto Hotel.

Savannah really hasn't changed much over the years.

She is still a sleepy, laid back town.

I love to go downtown.....

The parks and squares,

good restaurants,

quaint shops,

all beckon me to come visit.

I have mastered my 

water aerobics.

So much fun,

so relaxing, 

such a great workout.

I still have a little trouble 

getting everything going in the right direction,

at the right time,

but I am not alone in that.

Most importantly,

as we get a little older every day,

it is so important to keep our bodies moving

and our minds active.

Getting older is inevitable,

Taking care of our bodies is essential

Preparing for eternity 

is the most important thing we can do in this life.

I read this in Job today....

"Man who is born of woman,

Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

Like a flower he comes forth and withers...

He also flees like a shadow and does not remain."

God has told us in advance that we will all die.

The presence of so many cemeteries

attests that this fact is true.

Yet so many do not prepare.

They live this

 "short,

turmoil filled life" 

as if it will go on forever.

In Christ we are secure.

In Christ we have eternal life.

Do you know Jesus tonight?

hilton head~saturday

We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday

so that David and Bubba could watch the golf match on Sunday.

There is a wonderful playground at

Harbor Town.

There are also several large oak trees with branches that 

swoop down almost to the ground.

They just beckon you to come and climb.

This photo is on one of those limbs.

We are waiting now for some things to fall into place

so that Archie can get his first 

surgery scheduled.

It could be sooner or it could be later....

don't know yet,

but more than likely it will be this summer.

Keep him in your prayers

as when it is done it will be major.

We are all very hopeful for good results.

We put him securely in God's hands

knowing assuredly that there is no better place for 

Archie to rest.

Jesus said this...

"Let the little children come to Me,

and do not forbid them;

for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 19:14

yard

I take great joy in having a backyard.

It has been a long time.

Most every day I do some work out there.

The lawn is luscious.

Most every evening I sit on the back porch and enjoy.

As I grow older,

I am more and more a homebody.

Simple pleasures,

beauty,

love of family and friends

make life such a pleasure and a delight.

The deer give me a hard time.

They love my yard too.

We do battle each and every day.

I spray and they eat.

I think I'm going to sit up all night and just watch for them.

Bubba and I were so excited about

growing eggplants.....

love them fresh off the vine and into the frying pan.

All six plants were gone the first night.

As you can see in the picture,

there are some plants they do not bother.

I need to be thankful for those.

Had a great Father's Day weekend.

Hilton Head yesterday

and church and the beach today.

Bubba did his "Daddy" thing well.

He has many rewards...

six to be exact.

Thank you Lord for Dads.

For hard work,

lots of play,

and most of all 

lots and lots of love.

a simple bouquet

If I had known then what I know now,

I would have carried

a simple bouquet of pale pink peonies

in my hand

as I walked down the aisle

to marry my beloved.

There is something that is

simply elegant about these flowers.

Nothing more is needed,

they say everything that needs to be said.

I have a bunch of four peonies

in an exquisite vase

 on the island in my kitchen.

Every time I walk by them, they take my breath away.

Tomorrow they will start to fade away,

but O the joy they bring me today.

We have a time here on this earth.

We are promised at best seventy years of life,

eighty if we are strong.

Our time is brief, a mere whisper, a turning leaf.

We are made in God's image,

we are set aside to bring glory to God.

It takes a lifetime to learn all of the lessons,

and then it is still by grace that we make it to heaven.

Sometimes we get so bogged down in the mire of life

that we forget about the joy,

the wonder of it all.

Augustine said

that the chief end of life

is to know God and to to enjoy Him forever.

Is that our goal,

are we seeking to know Him,

really know Him,

and then to find the joy that nothing else can provide?

cathy

sweet things

Grammy and her darlings...

sitting on the new bench,

just after the storm moved through this afternoon.

Lu and I spent the day at the beach.

Still kinda struggling with my writing,

but thought I would at least change the picture.

I love this....

"My trust is not that I am holy,

but that, being unholy,

Christ died for me.

My rest is here

not in what I am or shall be or feel or know,

but in what Christ is 

and must be,

in what Christ did and is still doing

 as He stands

beyond yonder throne of glory."

Charles Spurgeon

I praise God tonight for truths like these

on which I can focus my thoughts.

Life is not about me at all,

it is about Him

who did these things for me.

deacon's bench

When Bubba and I first got married,

we bought two pieces of furniture....

This bench

 and a rocking chair to match.

For the last few years we have had no place for them. 

They have been in storage.

Then, out of the blue,

 an idea hit me.

Paint it white and put it on our front porch.

I always get a little nervous 

when Bubba starts a painting project.

He gets paint everywhere,

spills it,

and otherwise creates a mess.

But,

out of the garage goes my car,

a painting stage is set,

and work begins.

I think it turned out beautifully....

just what the porch needed,

and I dressed it up

with a sand dollar pillow.

He is also painting my 

Adirondack chair.

It is white and will sit on the lawn in the backyard.

He only ruined one set of clothes.

He wears those every time he paints.

They were blue 

and now are white as snow.

So thankful for Bubba.

He willingly does sweet things for me, 

even though I say bad things about his painting skillls.

Love you bub!

jump & shout

Last evening we went to the beach with

Lucy, Harry, and Gus.

The beach is our hangout.

Its a good cure for everything that hurts....

mind, body, and spirit.

I am experiencing a writer's block,

brain fog,

total inability to write.

I hope this is not the end of my blog. :)

I have had a really difficult nine months

emotionally.

A knocked for a loop,

down but not out kinda time of my life.

I am getting better,

but it is very slow....

tedious,

kinda four steps ahead and three backwards.

So,

if I write, good,

if not,

that is okay as well.

One thing I know,

when God works in our lives,

sometimes it is very painful.

"In this you greatly rejoice,

though now for a little while,

you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

These have come so that your faith.....

of greater worth than gold,

which perishes even though refined by fire,

may be proved genuine

and may result in

praise,

glory,

and honor,

when Jesus Christ is revealed."

I Peter 1: 6&7

That God is glorified....

that is all that matters ultimately.

*And,

on top of everything else,

all of my hollow milk chocolate Easter bunnies are gone. :(

*Humor saves my life sometimes.

barrier islands

So glad I get to live on the coast.
I count that a huge blessing from the Lord.

Just look at all these little barrier islands
of which Tybee is the first and the smallest.
Yesterday the wind was whipping up the surf big time down at the beach.
Lots of white caps on the waves coming in at an angle.
A little on the cool side....
needed my sweater.

Been working in the yard this evening.
Little by little I am making progress.
Thinking about the verse in Genesis 3,
after the fall,
when God cursed the ground.....

"Cursed is the ground for your sake;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you."

*Working with the ground will always be hard work.

Bubba laughs at me as I fight my battles with the deer.
The guy who cuts our grass
said that we could put motion sensors on our sprinkler system.
Then at night when they come to feast,
the water will hit them and they will run away.
That is our next project.

I'm an island girl...
always have been, always will be.
There is salt water coursing through my veins.
Best smell in the world is the salt marsh at sunset.
Love the beach,
and summer,
and long days,
and waves crashing on the shore.
Thank you Lord for all of this!!!

june one 2014

Getting ready to go down to the beach.

Kinda windy,

but otherwise very beautiful.

Found this pillow on sale at a shop downtown last week.

Right now it is here at this house.

It may find its way eventually down to the condo.

Either way, I like it a lot.

Anyway....

this is short,

Just wanted to welcome the month of June,

and summer,

and a new week.

God does everything right,

even when you would do things differently,

His way is always best.

"But our God is in heaven;

He does whatever He pleases."

Psalm 115:3

@learning to live by faith in Him

and in His word.