Tag: #blogging

Happy Tuesday!

Published on by Wanda1 Comment

I can hardly believe I have been away for so long. It seems the older I get, the faster time passes. I had the day off today from work and finally dug out my laptop. Finding my site still active, I checked the news in the Reader and jumped in with the Happy Tuesday Challenge.

A Blogging Survey If You Please

Published on by WandaLeave a comment
An image made up of question marks
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Maggie from Cave Walls is taking a survey about our blogging habits.

questions below.

1. How many times per week do you post? Do you post multiple times a day? If so, how many? I have gone through long spells of not blogging for various reasons. I have recently recommitted myself to my blog. I am trying to post at least every day when time permits. After being retired I am again working full time which does limit my online time.

2. How many blogs do you follow? I guess it’s somewhere between 50 and 100. I can’t really say as I am having a terrible time locating where to find this info.

3. Do you read all the blogs you follow every day? If not, how often do you read other blogs? I don’t read all of my followed blogs every day, I do read them at least once a week, that is, when I am actively blogging.

4. Do you seek out new blogs to follow?  If so, how do you find them? I follow new blogs from links on the blogs I read.

5. Do you comment on the blogs you read? If not, why? Do you respond to all the comments left on your blog? I don’t always comment on the blogs I read because there are times I have nothing to contribute. I always acknowledge the comments left on my posts even it it is just to like it.

6. Do you ever close comments on a blog you post? If so, why? No I have never closed comments.

7. Do you ever unfollow someone? If so, why? I think I have unfollowed one blog that I can remember. If I remember right, the blog’s content changed direction into an area I was no longer interested in.

8. What content inspires you to follow a blogger? Everything from history, to humor, to learning about the blogger to photography to crafting to quilting to reading to politics to religion…my list goes on and on.

9. What content turns you off from following someone? I do not like “adult content”, smut, vulgarity, satanic, or racist content.

10. How important is it to you that you add a photo to every post? I like to add photos in my posts, but often I don’t have the time to search for the one I want so I go without one.

I will leave it at this.

Happy New Year!

Published on by Wanda1 Comment

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 1st, 2023

Today is for reflecting on the past year and planning for the new year. For remembering the good times and the not so good times, family and friends lost and those that remain, for honestly assessing the choices we made and the outcomes those choices merited, and deciding if we want to repeat them or change them. If we are brutally honest with ourselves, we know that we go through life repeating the same choices over and over and over again with the same outcomes as a result. But still each year we come up with our ideas of what will make us better. Our New Years’ Resolutions.

I have come up with a few for myself this year. They are:

Take care of my soul, mind and body.

Treat everyone with respect and kindness.

Work hard and always do my best.

Develop more patience with others and myself.

Remember to do what I love.

I know that I am destined to fail at times, I am human, but instead of those lofty resolutions of my youth, I just want to be the child of God He wants me to be.

What are your resolutions for 2023?

Blessings to all and a Very Happy New Year!

ROOTS

Published on by Wanda1 Comment

RDP SATURDAY: ROOTS

Many years ago my daughter and I went to Hawaii. We were in awe of it’s beauty. We stayed in Waikiki but we flew to Maui for a day. It was there that I first learned about the Banyan Tree.

Banyan Tree at Lahaina, Maui

This banyan tree is in the historical Lahaina town, which was the former capital of Hawaii. It is the oldest banyan tree in Hawaii and also in the United States.

A gift from the Smith family, it was planted on April 24, 1873 at Lahaina by sheriff William Owen Smith to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the first Protestant mission in Maui. The tree, from India was just 8 feet (2.4 m) when planted in the now Banyan Tree Park. It has grown to a height of about 60 feet (18 m) and has rooted into 16 major trunks, apart from the main trunk. The areal root system and canopy now cover over 0.66 acres (0.27 ha).

I can remember sitting under this tree taking the immense site in. I had never heard of banyan trees. Kelly and I were mesmerized for sure. The largest tree I had ever seen was the big willow my grandmother had in her yard. It literally made a cool outdoor room with space enough to hold several chairs and long willows keeping everything else out. But, that was nothing compared to a park contained in a tree.

In fairness I have to divulge that the technical information contained in this post is from Wikipedia. I have all of that information about the park and the tree and have several pictures from my trip, but I just can’t put my hands on therm. So I have done some cheating so to speak. This picture is from the internet. I have lost the link I copied to put on the picture. There are thousands of pictures on the internet of the park. My apologies to the photographer for not giving due credit.

I can remember sitting with Kelly under this tree and realizing that this tree was like my family. Although each areal root was part of the next, it was an individual with its own needs at any given time. These roots were responding to weather, traffic, insects and the people who enjoyed it’s fruits and shade. I think that’s when I became interested in my family tree. I developed a need to discover my roots.

One last note here. When someone tells me there is no God, I can’t help but ask how do you explain the beauty that surrounds us? The sky, stars, flowers, the mighty banyan tree? Unfortunately, most reply how do you explain the ugly, awful, pain and destruction of the world. It is sad to me that so many people don’t realize that God is real, but so is Satan who spends his existence trying to damage what good God has given us and we have a choice in participating in the good or evil.

Ugly

Published on by WandaLeave a comment

Ugly is a word often used to describe things that are displeasing or offensive to us. It’s not just the physical attributes of such things or persons, but also the attitudes, emotions, judgments, and general affect that can exude an ugliness.

It is important to note that some of the things we consider ugly are not necessarily ugly when they are taken into context. For instance the American Cockroach otherwise known as the Palmento Bug (if you live in the Carolina’s) isn’t necessarily ugly to people who like bugs. Just to clarify, I find them disgustingly ugly. They make my skin crawl, but my grandson loves them. He has had some real “beauties” as pets over the years.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so it goes to reason that the same goes for ugliness. Here’s an example of what I am talking about. I am the closing manager in a retail store in my neighborhood. The other night while working I heard somone bouncing a basketball in the store. I very nicely asked that they stop bouncing the ball in the store. The bouncing stopped then started up again. I walked toward the teenaged girl who was bouncing the ball and asked that she refrain from bouncing it. She ignored me and I repeated my request a third time. With that, her mother told her to continue to bounce the ball if she wanted to and told me to leave her alone she was not hurting anyone. Her daughter just laughed at me and kept bouncing the ball. Now, understand that we have many older customers and many young customers as well as a lot of glass all around the store. The request was made out of safety for all concerned.

I explained to the woman and her daugher that she would need to leave the store if my request was not heeded. At which time she told me that I could not make her leave. I called the police asking to have assistance removing them from the store. After making a mess while I was on the phone and realizing I was really speaking to the dispatcher, they walked out. At that time I was asked if they had left the parking lot. I had to walk outside to see if they had and watched them get into their vehicle. It was then that they threatened me with physical harm. Now I have to tell you that we have a wonderful police force and they responded right away. The customers were long gone, but they did go around the outside or the building to make sure they were not still on the property.

My eye beheld very ugly behavior not so much from the teenaged daughter, but from a mother who was going out of her way to teach that teen that she need not respect property, authority, or herself. It was shameful to say the least.

You Know You’re Getting Old When…

Published on by WandaLeave a comment

You open your blog and find that you haven’t posted in over a year but it just seems like it’s only been a few weeks! Honestly, I don’t know where the time goes. Of course, I cannot believe I turned 71 on my last birthday. Funny I don’t feel 71, but then again I don’t know what 71 is supposed to feel like. In my head, I am still in my thirties. Can you say delusional? LOL Since my youngest child is in her late thirties (a fact that simply amazes me) I am destined to be rudely brought back to reality.

There are a few things I wish I had more time for. I haven’t spent much time on my photography since I am working full-time. My quilting hobby has also suffered and it goes without saying my blogging has taken a hit. Realizing this, I have decided to make a few changes going forward. I am working on a schedule for myself that will include time for the things I love to do. I guess it is at this point that I have to be honest with myself and admit that I really do like working so I will be realistic about just how much I can accomplish in a specific period of time.

Here’s to jumping on the blogging bandwagon and swapping words with old friends.

May Day…

Published on by WandaLeave a comment

I can’t believe it’s already the 7th of May. Where does the time go? Since I am working outside the house now it seems like it passes even quicker than it did before.

Have you heard of Home Free? It’s an acapella group that sings country music covers. I found them accidently on youtube. I love them. There are 5 in the group and they have wonderful voices. I have made their music my wind down sound when I go to bed.

Do you remember the show The Sing Off? They were the winners one year. Their videos from the show are also on youtube. They are amazing on them.

I have been planting some flowers and herbs in pots for my patio and little garden area. It’s starting to look pretty out there. I woke up today with a torrential downpour and high winds. I had to run out and rescue some of my seedlings. I got out there just in time. Phew!

Being a product of Catholic School, I always think of the Blessed Mother when May comes around. Well actually I think of Mary all the time. I do believe if it were not for her, I would have been lost. But that’s a story for another day. I fondly remember all of the May Processions we had in school and the Crowning of the statue Mary in our church. It was a big deal. The graduating class wore long gowns and were installed into the sodality. We also crowned Mary each day in our classroom. I loved when it was my turn to make her crown for the statue of Mary in my classroom.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Mother’s Day and you get to spend it the way you want.

Keep the faith!

First Job In Retail

Published on by WandaLeave a comment

After spending many years in nursing I retired, I thought I was done working and would spend my golden years busing myself with the hobbies I had never had time to pursue. And so it went until my husband died suddenly. Then it all began to change.

Without going into all the mundane details of the grieving process and the changes that were necessary for me to get to where I am today, I have had to get a job. Since I have been out of nursing for so long that option is not available. So I have obtained my first job in retail. I was hired at my Dollar Tree as a cashier. I had never even used a cash register. Talk about an eye opener! I had no idea that cashier meant cleaning up, sweeping the floor, stocking the drink coolers, and even wiping down the rest rooms!

I cannot believe how sloppy people are. They pick things up and walk into the next aisle and just drop it onto another shelf. Or just walk further down the same aisle and just throw it anywhere. It’s infuriating. They help themselves to anything they wish to drink or munch on and put the empty containers anywhere they can find a flat surface. The theft is unbelievable! I have this undying desire to put up this sign.

Image from the internet.

Of course the powers that be would have a stroke.

Finally I know why my daughter used to complain about shoppers when she worked in retail. It is something you would not believe unless you experience it yourself.

First Apartment

Published on by WandaLeave a comment

I am setting a new record, this is my third post in as many days. I won’t get too excited because I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. You may be wondering why this is such a “big” first for me. After all, it seems like that first should be lost to my memory. I mean, how can you compare first love to this?

This is such a big first for me because I have only been in my first apartment for less than 2 years. Some of my followers may remember me posting that I had moved in back in September 2019 but I thought I would revisit this first.

My husband and I were married for one month short of 41 years. I moved into our home from the home I grew up in. So, I had never lived on my own and it was the last thing I wanted to be doing. But, God has other plans for me. He took Gary home to Him in September 2016. I stayed in the house for a couple of years but I was in the middle of nowhere and my kids were worried about me. So after the hurricane that destroyed a large part of my home I decided to sell it.

My daughter helped me find the apartments I am living in in the city. I have been making it my own since I moved in. I have to tell you though, it is a bit of a struggle, at least at first it was. I was now living away from all of the people I had made friends with. I had to change my church because I am over an hour away from it. I don’t have my quilt guild that I had been a member of since 2005. So I have become a master of adjustments.

What I have gained is my grandchildren are less than 10 minutes away and I see them several times a week. Both of my daughters are close by so we see each other more often. I can walk to the grocery store if I feel like it. I have wonderful neighbors. I can sew when I want, do my photography when I want and do nothing if I want.

I think that the biggest take away from this situation that was forced upon me is that I now know I can do it. I am happy, I am busy, and I am no longer afraid to be alone. Believe me that is the big one. There are so many benefits that I never thought of. I don’t have to compromise over the color of my furniture, or what I want to make for supper. And I get to live in the city, although it’s not a big city, where I can go to the theatre and out to dinner when I want. Something Gary would never do. I guess we get these benefits to help us adjust. Believe me, I would so much rather have my Gary back with me, but since I can’t I have chosen to accept my life as it is and be happy.