You always pay for convenience. I was at a check out counter in the local supermarket and the woman in back of me noticed I had two bags of fresh cranberries. She asked me, “Are they hard to make (referring to the sauce)?” And I quickly told her, “You just add a cup of sugar and water for each bag and heat and stir a bit. I said, “they taste great” and repeated “they really are not hard to make”. The cashier then popped up and said “I am a ‘can’ person”. My argument for making fresh cranberry sauce had no effect on the customer in back of me. She said, “I am still going to buy the can. It is so much easier to open the can and pour it out.” I just shrugged my shoulders and left the store. I am well aware of the price of convenience: It costs more and often does not taste as good.
Tags: cashier, cranberry sauce, customer, fresh cranberries, price of convenience, supermarket
Posted in balance, health, humor, knowledge&learning, life, local, money, time, wisdom |
There is nothing more important than love. When everything is taken away from you, that is all that remains–love. Some people spend a lifetime building an empire and very little time building relationships. No one wants to know how hard you worked but they remember if you loved them, spent time with them or encouraged them in their endeavors. Love is the only thing that remains when you go. The positive memories you have built up in a lifetime. And for some people those memories are negative. Love you have shared with others is the only thing that really matters and lasts. Money can not buy love. It takes time to love others properly.
Tags: building an empire, building relationships, encourage, God, lifetime, love, love others, love remains, memories, money can not buy love
Posted in God, knowledge&learning, life, love, mental health, relationships, time, wisdom, your job/mission/profession |
In every life some tragedy falls. It does no good to bemoan your fate. Some people die, get sick, have accidents. Life is not fair. It does no good to compare yourself with others. You deal with the “cards dealt you”. That is all you can do. Every life has tragedy. There is no way to get around that. Each life has problems. You should be grateful. Life is, indeed, very precious and all you can do is deal with your unique set of problems. And how you face them will determines your character. We are all tempered by the crucible of fire.
Tags: accidents, be grateful, bemoan your fate, crucible of fire, death, everyone has problems, God, gratitude, life is precious, sickness, tempered, tragedy, your character
Posted in balance, death, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, time, wisdom |
I don’t want to go far away. Last I checked the temperature was seventy. This could be the last time this year it hits seventy. I want to enjoy the weather here. If I can’t enjoy it in my own backyard, how can I possibly enjoy it any where else. So I will stay put, walk around my property and see what I can, enjoy the sun here and every thing else around me. I will watch my four dogs run around our fenced yard. I don’t want to have to go any where but my backyard. I don’t want to go far away.
Tags: 70 degrees, autumn, backyard, dogs, fence, pets, sun, weather
Posted in beauty, birds, local, nature, pets, relationships, seasons, time, wisdom |
It was the old fashioned way. And it did not occur to me until I learned my dryer was not going to be fixed immediately. It had been out of service for at least a week and the service person had to order a part, which would take over a week to arrive. I was running out of clean underwear and socks and had become desperate. I had to improvise. First I had considered going to the nearest laundromat. That was twenty minutes away. Then I remembered I had clothesline so I strung it up. We were going to hit a good stretch of weather. It was going to be warm and no rain. My wife dug up some clothes pins so we were in business. This is the way people always dried their clothing (before the advent of electricity and driers). She was thrilled she could air dry her clothing and what did not dry was hung up in the bathroom overnight. This was the way it was always done at one time. It certainly was economical. We had to rediscover it. She was so thrilled. And I had clean underwear and socks again. And other clean clothing.
Tags: broken dryer, clean underwear, clothes dryer, clothes line, clothes pins, laundromat, laundry, service repairman, socks, the old fashioned way, warm weather
Posted in health, knowledge&learning, life, local, marriage, money, nature, seasons, time, wisdom |
I stepped out and it was beautiful and I did not want to miss it. There was not even a hint of a breeze and the sun was out and it was warm. It was less than two weeks from the official beginning of winter. Tomorrow was more of the same. Then the temperature will drop and the weather would become more seasonable. I wanted to catch part of the day outside. Soon this gorgeous weather would just be a memory and I will have to bundle up every time I go outside. Maybe I will go fishing tomorrow. It will be more of the same temperatures. And I want to take advantage of it. Such weather was precious this time of year and the forecast for this winter was that it would be a cold one. I don’t want this day to slip away.
Tags: autumn, beautiful day, bundle up, Fall, fishing, gorgeous weather, sun, weather, winter
Posted in beauty, local, nature, seasons, time, wisdom |
The morning greeting from my “pups” was exuberant. Their names are “Coco” and “Tilla”. We have had them since they were born and, of course, they are full grown now.
Today they jumped all over me when they saw me for the first time this morning at my front entrance. “Tilla” demanded he be petted even jumping over “Coco” in the process. “Coco” wiggled in every direction and “mouthed” me although she did not bite. She does this only when she gets excited.
I know these dogs are only on “loan” to me. I don’t own them. They are both God’s creatures. And the day will come when they will not be on the earth any more–not that they are old or sick. They are not.
They are only the first and second dog I have had from birth. And they do not belong to me. Today I will enjoy them. They are a gift. I will treat them as such. For that matter, my time here is only temporary, too. You usually outlive your pets. But not always.
Tags: a gift, Coco, dogs, God, God's creatures, morning greeting, pets, pets are a gift, puppies, Tilla, time on earth
Posted in death, God, knowledge&learning, life, local, love, pets, relationships, time, wisdom |
