Both my wife and I appreciated the orange Gerbera daisy that bloomed in our house. The two plants were left over from last year. The plants were annuals that would have died in the cold. Recently she moved both plants closer to the window. And one bloomed. Both looked healthier. I counted three buds on the other plant. Let us see if that one blooms, too. And what color the flower will be. Every morning we look at that orange bloom both of become a little happier. This was an experiment that worked to our surprise.
Tags: flowers, gardening, Gerbera daisy bloomed inside, Gerbera daisy's survival, orange daisy
Posted in beauty, flowers, knowledge&learning, local, marriage, nature, seasons, time |
We actually had a Gerbera daisy bloom in our house today–an orange one. It was winter time. We had brought in two plants before it became cold. And one decided to bloom. One had never done that before. The orange flower is a harbinger of spring. We are in the middle of a “heatwave”: it will hit forty for at least five days. I am praying all our snow and ice melts so we don’t pray for our life every time we walk the forty feet to our cars.
Tags: bloom of a Gerbera Daisy in winter time, flowers, harbinger of Spring, ice and snow, orange flower, spring, winter
Posted in beauty, flowers, knowledge&learning, local, seasons, time |
I was struggling to fall asleep for five or six nights. I knew it was due to anxiety which was caused by fear. I happened to open up a book I had on faith and found several passages I had underlined. The words were just what I needed to allay my anxiety. I kept referring to them the next few days. I started sleeping better. And not taking so long to fall asleep. It was a book I had not opened in a long time. I must have been dealing with similar issues before. It was just the right words I needed to hear. Books can be lifesavers.
Tags: anxiety, books can be lifesavers, faith, falling asleep quickly, fear, God, sleep
Posted in balance, God, knowledge&learning, local, mental health, time |
I made several small discoveries today. My rubber tree in my office had new growth on four branches. I forgot that it has dormant periods. It is over three feet high. I give it a little water every day. That is the extent of my care. I never had one do well before. I will just continue doing what I am doing. I like looking at it every day and noticing anything new about it.
There were actually six goldfinch on my thistle feeder briefly and I noticed five or six also on my sunflower feeder at the same time. Goldfinch will sit there five minutes feeding. Now they are all gone. All the birds appeared to be male. That seems a little odd.
Last fall before the cold killed the two Gerbera daisies outside we brought them in. The annuals were going to die any way. And stuck both plants by the window and occasionally would give them water. The one closer to the window actually had a flower we discovered yesterday. I could not determine the color yet.
These were just three small observations I made in the last twenty-four hours.
Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, Gerbera daisies, goldfinch, goldfinch have come back, rubber tree, rubber tree dormant period, small observations, sunflower feeder, thistle feeder
Posted in beauty, birds, flowers, knowledge&learning, local, nature, seasons, time |
It is so easy to become unhappy. It is so easy to center on what you don’t have. I have to center on the multiple blessings I have been given: food, shelter, a loving wife. Humans have the capacity to want things they don’t have. It only makes me unhappy. For the rest of the Christmas season and New Year I will thank the Lord for the many blessings I have been given. There is so much I have to thank the Lord for. I will think about those things the rest of the year.
Tags: blessings, Christmas, count your blessings, food and shelter, God, gratitude, it is so easy to become unhappy, loving wife, multiple blessings, New Year, thank God, thank the Lord
Posted in balance, God, knowledge&learning, life, local, love, marriage, mental health, seasons, time, wisdom |
Every day is a gift. And a miracle. There is no way to get around that but to lead a life of despair. I chose not to do that. Every thing in my life is only by grace. I chose to believe every day is a miracle. And sometimes I wallow in despair. And have to work through it. The dawn is always around the next corner. In fact, it is right in front of you. And life can be bitter and contain much loss and pain. I have to work through it. And walk toward the Light–the Light that is always there. And sometimes I stop seeing it. It is there but my vision is clouded. I have to remove the blinders over and over. It is a process. I chose to believe every day is a miracle. There is no other way to live. The only other choice is despair.
Tags: dawn around the corner, dawn right in front of you, despair needs to be worked through, every day a miracle occurs, every day is a gift, every thing is by grace, God, grace, life can be bitter, life of despair, much loss and pain, remove the blinders, sometimes stop seeing the Light, The Light, the Light is always there, vision clouded, walk toward the Light, wallow in despair
Posted in balance, beauty, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, seasons, time, wisdom |
Our involvement in the Middle East (after 9/11) was really about vengeance. The American people wanted someone to pay for the thousands who died at the world trade centers. And our president used that as an excuse to invade Iraq and have a greater presence in the Middle East and to this day we don’t know whether he outright lied or was deliberately fed faulty intelligence when he claimed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. And it was not true. Terrorism got worse there. And we are still in Afghanistan–the longest war we have ever been in and we don’t hear about much but we are still there. And you have to wonder why. Much money is being made and no one is honest: we are there because of the oil. We want a greater presence in the Middle East because of the oil there. None of the politicians want to say that openly but that is the truth. We are there because of the oil. Fighting terrorism is just an excuse.
Tags: 9/11, Afghanistan, American people, Iraq, Middle East, much money is being made in the middle east, oil and the war, politicians, war, world trade centers
Posted in death, knowledge&learning, money, politics |
Every night we play a game of scrabble. It is a fierce rivalry. Often it goes down to the last turn or two before we can declare a winner. I taught her everything I know about playing the game and getting more points. I think she has learned her lessons well for she beats me all too often.
We play a open game with a computerized scrabble dictionary. It is more fun that way. We use a deluxe game which swivels although it is “patched” together with duct tape. There is one “build” allowed each game. In other words you are allowed once a game to enter your seven scrabble letters in the dictionary to see whether you can come up with a seven letter word, for there is a bonus of fifty points if you use all your letters in one turn. This is such a powerful “weapon” that we limit its use to once in each game. We have come up with some strange words that way. I really think she has become a better player than me, though we seem to take turns in winning. I hate losing.
Tags: bonus fifty points, game, getting more points, I taught my wife all the "tricks" I know regarding scrabble, Scrabble, Scrabble build, Scrabble dictionary, scrabble rivalry, seven letter word
Posted in knowledge&learning, local, marriage, relationships, time |
The waxed begonias–both beds–and the two Gerbera Daisies are doing fine. In fact in the last week I discovered the bright red Gerbera Daisy has a second flower this one facing the fence and the orange one has another bud coming up. It is only the beginning of Fall so let us see how long these flowers flourish. When it turns colder I will keep my eyes open for signs of the primrose. There is, I believe, six different colored primrose. I love watching my yard for different signs of life, particularly, the flowers. Some are wild, some aren’t.
Tags: bright red daisy, Fall, flowers, gardening, Gerbera daisies, orange daisy, primrose, the primrose like cold weather, waxed begonias, wild flowers
Posted in balance, beauty, flowers, knowledge&learning, local, nature, seasons, time |
It is always better in the light. I need to get out, rub shoulders with others–even if it is only briefly. Sleep is coming from the darkness. It is an abyss. You have no control of your dreams. It is almost like death. My surroundings are too familiar. Outside it is light (and sometimes hope). Depression is too easy. It is always better in the light.
Tags: better in the light, death and sleep, depression and the light, don't stay in familiar surroundings, dreams are an abyss, light and hope, need to get outside, no control of your dreams
Posted in balance, death, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, local, mental health, time, wisdom |
The goldfinch stopped coming in flocks. In the last week. Sometimes between the finch feeder and sunflower feeder there could be seen at one time five or six or more goldfinch. In the last week they stopped coming in throes. Now I am lucky if I see more than one or two at one time. I have no explanation for this. I did nothing different. I am not sure if goldfinch migrate. That would be a possible explanation. I have to ask someone about this. I am just curious about that.
Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, finch feeder, goldfiich stopped coming, goldfinch, migration, sunflower feeder, the goldfich are migrating?
Posted in birds, knowledge&learning, local, nature, seasons, time |
Give us today our daily bread. The prayer we give every day is God satisfies our daily needs. This is illustrated by one of Jesus’ parables. A farmer had a great crop and he built a gigantic store house. And Jesus came to him and called him a fool. Jesus informed him his time has come. You don’t have to stock up. He will take care of us every day. And it is a day at a time. That should be our prayer: He fulfills all our physical needs a day at a time. Each day you face.
Tags: "give us our daily bread", a day at a time, God, God satisfies, Jesus, no need to stock up, our daily prayer, parable, prayer
Posted in balance, death, God, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, money, relationships, time, wisdom |
